Ecological characteristics of potential groundwater dependent vegetation in the Western Davenport Water Control District
Details:
Title
Ecological characteristics of potential groundwater dependent vegetation in the Western Davenport Water Control District,
Creator
Nano, C,
Jobson, P,
Randall, D,
Brim Box, J,
Collection
E-Publications,
E-Books,
PublicationNT,
Technical Report 19/2021,
Mapping the Future Project,
Mapping the Future Project - Western Davenport,
Date
2021,
Location
Western Davenport,
Abstract
Globally, groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are recognised for their value as ecological refuges, specialised habitat and areas of high indigenous cultural importance. Particularly in the world’s drylands, GDEs are often threatened as human water use increasingly exceeds aquifer recharge rates.
In the Northern Territory, water allocation policy and groundwater extraction regulation aims to, amongst other factors, minimise adverse impacts to GDEs. Key to the effective protection of GDEs is their identification, characterisation and value assessment.
The Western Davenport study area is within the boundaries of the Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan and has been identified as a region of high agricultural development potential due to its vast stores of accessible groundwater. This area supports a variety of vegetation types across its major landscapes. A subset of the vegetation is potentially dependent on groundwater access, either at all times or more opportunistically in times of drought. Currently for the project area, understanding of GDE distribution and the sensitivity of these ecosystems to water table drawdown is poor, and this is a major impediment to their appropriate management.
The objectives of this study were to improve our ability to detect GDEs and to increase our knowledge of their ecological attributes, their biological and cultural values and their vulnerability to groundwater drawdown. An accompanying study mapped potential GDEs using remote-sensing (Brim Box et al. in draft), while this report summarises a field-based investigation of potential groundwater-dependent vegetation within the study area.,
Notes
Made available by via Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT),
Table of contents
List of Tables -- List of figures -- Executive Summary -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Method -- 3. Results and discussions -- 4. Values of potential GDV -- 5. Reference -- 6. Appendices - 6.1 Appendix 1 Detailed survey site stratification, and assessment of groundwater dependent status of sandplain and alluvial sites sampled in the Western Davenport study area in 2019 - 6.2 Appendix 2 Tables derived from DistLM floristic modelling of vegetation and groundwater patterns in the study area - 6.3 Appendix 3 SIMPER analysis of between-group dissimilarity (< 10 m versus > 10 m groundwater depth) for sandplain and alluvial landscapes of the study area - 6.4 Appendix 4 GDV plants of high cultural value - 6.5 Appendix 5 Figures derived from floristic analyses of vegetation and groundwater patterns in the Western Davenport study area - 6.6 Appendix 6 Description of vegetation types in the Western Davenport study area and their classification as likely, equivocal, or unlikely GDV,