Groundwater use by riparian vegetation in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia

O'Grady, AP; Eamus, D; Cook, PG; Lamontagne, S

Groundwater use by riparian vegetation in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia

O'Grady, AP Eamus, D

Cook, PG Lamontagne, S

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Botany, 2006, 54 (2), pp. 145 - 154
Issue Date:: 2006-04-17

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	O'Grady, AP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eamus, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-8040	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cook, PG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lamontagne, S	en_US
dc.date.issued	2006-04-17	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Botany, 2006, 54 (2), pp. 145 - 154	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0067-1924	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3866
dc.description.abstract	Within Australia and globally there is considerable concern about the potential impacts of groundwater extraction on ecosystems dependent on groundwater. In this study we have combined heat pulse and isotopic techniques to assess groundwater use by riparian vegetation along the Daly River in the Northern Territory. The riparian forests of the Daly River exhibited considerable structural and floristic complexity. More than 40 tree species were recorded during vegetation surveys and these exhibited a range of leaf phonologies, implying complex patterns of water resource partitioning within the riparian forests. Water use was a function of species and season, and stand water use varied between 1.8 and 4.1 mm day-1. In general, however, water use tended to be higher in the wet season than during the dry season, reflecting the contribution to stand water use by dry-season deciduous tree species. There was a strong relationship between stand basal area and stand water use in the wet season, but the strength of this relationship was lower in the dry season. The amount of groundwater use, as determined by analysis of deuterium concentrations in xylem sap, was principally a function of position in the landscape. Trees at lower elevations, closer to the river, used more groundwater than trees higher on the levees. By using a combination of techniques we showed that riparian vegetation along the Daly River was highly groundwater dependent and that these water-use requirements need to be considered in regional management plans for groundwater. © CSIRO 2006.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Botany	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1071/BT04164	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Plant Biology & Botany	en_US
dc.title	Groundwater use by riparian vegetation in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	54	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0605 Microbiology	en_US
utslib.for	0607 Plant Biology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	54	en_US

Abstract:

Within Australia and globally there is considerable concern about the potential impacts of groundwater extraction on ecosystems dependent on groundwater. In this study we have combined heat pulse and isotopic techniques to assess groundwater use by riparian vegetation along the Daly River in the Northern Territory. The riparian forests of the Daly River exhibited considerable structural and floristic complexity. More than 40 tree species were recorded during vegetation surveys and these exhibited a range of leaf phonologies, implying complex patterns of water resource partitioning within the riparian forests. Water use was a function of species and season, and stand water use varied between 1.8 and 4.1 mm day-1. In general, however, water use tended to be higher in the wet season than during the dry season, reflecting the contribution to stand water use by dry-season deciduous tree species. There was a strong relationship between stand basal area and stand water use in the wet season, but the strength of this relationship was lower in the dry season. The amount of groundwater use, as determined by analysis of deuterium concentrations in xylem sap, was principally a function of position in the landscape. Trees at lower elevations, closer to the river, used more groundwater than trees higher on the levees. By using a combination of techniques we showed that riparian vegetation along the Daly River was highly groundwater dependent and that these water-use requirements need to be considered in regional management plans for groundwater. © CSIRO 2006.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3866