Abstract
Wetlands dominated by Swamp Paperbarks (Melaleuca spp., Myrtaceae) are common in coastal regions across Australia. Many of these wetlands have been filled in for coastal development or otherwise degraded as a consequence of altered water regimes and increased salinity. Substantial resources, often involving community groups, are now being allocated to revegetating the remaining wetland sites, yet only rarely is the effectiveness of the rehabilitation strategies or on-ground procedures robustly assessed. As part of a larger project investigating the condition and rehabilitation of brackish-water wetlands of the Gippsland Lakes, we overlaid a scientifically informed experimental design on a set of community-based planting trials to test the effects of water depth, microtopography, plant age and planting method on the survival and growth of seedlings of Melaleuca ericifolia Sm. in Dowd Morass, a degraded, Ramsar-listed wetland in south-eastern Australia. Although previous laboratory and greenhouse studies have shown M. ericifolia seedlings to be salt tolerant, the strongly interactive effects of waterlogging and salinity resulted in high seedling mortality (>90%) in the field-based revegetation trials. Seedlings survived best if planted on naturally raised hummocks vegetated with Paspalum distichum L. (Gramineae), but their height was reduced compared with seedlings planted in shallowly flooded environments. Age of plants and depth of water were important factors in the survival and growth of M. ericifolia seedlings, whereas planting method seemed to have little effect on survival. Improved testing of revegetation methods and reporting of success or otherwise of revegetation trials will improve the effectiveness and accountability of projects aiming to rehabilitate degraded coastal wetlands.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Parks Victoria for allowing us to conduct the experiments at Dowd Morass and for their support of the project. The Rangers, Andrew Schulz, Chris Holmes and Peter Kambouris, are thanked especially. We are very grateful to John Topp of Gippsland Indigenous Plants for growing the seedlings, and to the Gippsland community for their assistance with planting, particularly Gary Howard and members of Field and Game Australia (Sale and District), Field Naturalists and Waterwatch. We thank also Ni Luh Watiniasih, Jacqui Salter and Matthew Hatton for their assistance in the field. This research was funded under Land and Water Grants UTV2 and MU041, with additional support from West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Department of Primary Industries, Parks Victoria and the Gippsland Coastal Board.
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Raulings, E.J., Boon, P.I., Bailey, P.C. et al. Rehabilitation of Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca ericifolia) wetlands in south-eastern Australia: effects of hydrology, microtopography, plant age and planting technique on the success of community-based revegetation trials. Wetlands Ecol Manage 15, 175–188 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-006-9022-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-006-9022-6