Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hydrologic and mechanical control for an invasive wetland plant, Juncus ingens, and implications for rehabilitating and managing Murray River floodplain wetlands, Australia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wetlands are prone to increased invasion by plant species following changes in hydrologic regime, leading to shifts in plant community composition and potentially ecosystem function and health. In this paper, the ecology and potential control of Juncus ingens, a native wetland plant in the Murray-Darling Basin of south-eastern Australia, is investigated. J. ingens has benefited from altered Murray River hydrologic conditions by expanding its range and invading seasonally-flooded grassland and riparian habitats along the Murray River. Here results of complementary glasshouse and field research of seedling and mature J. ingens growth and resilience as influenced by hydrologic regime (moist, saturated, partial inundation and when possible, complete inundation) and mechanical control (i.e., clipping) are presented. A moist hydrologic regime (soil held at field capacity) resulted in the most vigorous seedlings (13.9–73.0% more total biomass), while saturated conditions (flooding maintained level with the soil surface) resulted in the most vigorous mature J. ingens (14.1–98.4% more total biomass). Seedling mortality was greatest under complete and prolonged inundation (60% fatal with remaining 40% showing severe stress), conditions suspected to have limited prior invasion but which currently occur infrequently as a result of reduced flooding magnitude. Clipping was fatal for nearly all seedlings regardless of hydrologic regime but was only fatal for mature plants if coupled with prolonged inundation. Coupling ground-level clipping with strategic flooding may be the most effective means for controlling current populations of J. ingens and limiting further invasion, promoting re-colonisation by displaced species and rehabilitating the health of Barmah Forest and similar Murray River floodplain wetlands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Blanch SJ, Brock MA (1994) Effects of grazing and depth on two wetland plant species. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 45:1387–1394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bren LJ (1988) Effects of river regulation on flooding of a riparian red gum forest on the River Murray, Australia. Regul Rivers 2:65–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bren LJ (1992) Tree invasion of an intermittent wetland in relation to changes in the flooding frequency of the River Murray, Australia. Aust J Ecol 17:395–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinson MM, Malvarez AJ (2002) Temperate freshwater wetlands: types, status, and threats. Environ Conserva 29:115–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunn SE, Arthington AH (2002) Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity. Environ Manage 30(4):492–507

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chesterfield EA (1986) Changes in the vegetation of the river red gum forest at Barmah, Victoria. Aust J For 49:4–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesterfield EA, Loyn RH, Macfarlane RA (1984) Flora and fauna of Barmah State Forest and their management. Forests Commission of Victoria, Victoria, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong J, Ladson AR (2003) Analysis and management of unseasonal flooding in the Barmah-Millewa Forest, Australia. River Res App 19:161–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronk JK, Fennessy MS (2001) Wetland plants: biology and ecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld JG (2003) Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems 6:503–523

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ervin GN, Wetzel RG (2002) Influence of a dominant macrophyte, Juncus effuses, on wetland plant species richness, diversity and community composition. Oecologia 130:233–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch SM, Anderson NO, Ascher PD (1999) Invasiveness in wetland plants in temperate North America. Wetlands 19:733–755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güsewell S, Klützli F (2000) Assessment of aquatic and terrestrial reed (Phragmites australis) stands. Wetl Ecol Manage 8:367–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson MB, Drew MC (1984) Effects of flooding on growth and metabolism of herbaceous plants. In: Kozlowski TT (ed) Flooding and plant growth. Academic Press, Orlando, pp 47–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Kercher SM, Zedler JB (2004) Flood tolerance in wetland angiosperms: a comparison of invasive and non-invasive species. Aquat Bot 80:89–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kercher SM, Carpenter QJ, Zedler JB (2004) Interrelationships of hydrologic disturbance, reed canary grass (Phalris arundinacea L.), and native plants in Wisconsin wet meadows. Nat Areas J 24:316–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingsford RT (2000) Ecological impacts of dams, water diversions and river management in floodplain wetlands in Australia. Aust Ecol 25:109–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladson T (2002) Floods and the Barmah-Millewa Forest, Briefing Note. Australian Mekong Resource Centre, 5 pp

  • Leslie DJ (2001) Effect of river management on colonially-nesting waterbirds in the Barmah-Millewa forest, southeastern Australia. Regul Rivers: Res Manage 17:21–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lind PR, Robson BJ, Mitchell BD (2007) Multiple lines of evidence for the beneficial effects of environmental flows in two lowland rivers of Victoria, Australia. River Res Appl 23:933–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchamp A, Blanch S, Grillas P (2001) Effects of submergence on the growth of Phragmites australis seedlings. Aquat Bot 69:147–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesléard F, Lepart J, Grillas P, Mauchamp A (1999) Effects of seasonal flooding and grazing on the vegetation of former ricefields in the Rhône delta (Southern France). Plant Ecol 145:101–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton BA (1990) Effect of water depth and clipping frequency on the growth and survival of four wetland plant species. Aquat Bot 37:189–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsar (1971) The Ramsar convention on wetlands. Ramsar, Iran. http://www.ramsar.org

  • Reid MA, Brooks JJ (2000) Detecting effects of environmental water allocations in wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Regul Rivers: Res Manage 16:479–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson AI, Bacon P, Heagney G (2001) The responses of floodplain primary production to flood frequency and timing. J Appl Ecol 38:126–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell IA, Kraaij T (2008) Effects of cutting Phragmites australis along an inundation gradient, with implications for managing reed encroachment in a South African estuarine lake system. Wetl Ecol Manage 16:383–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS (2003) SAS Software Version 9.1. SAS Institute, Cary, NC

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) (2001) Design and analysis of ecological experiments, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson C (1992) The impact of river regulation on the natural flows of the Murray-Darling Basin. Murray-Darling Basin Commission Technical Report 92/5.1. Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Canberra, Australia

  • Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment (2003) Barmah Forest Ramsar Site: Strategic Management Plan. 48 pp

  • Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment (2008) Barmah Forest Ramsar site ecological character description. 40 pp

  • Vitousek PM, Walker LR, Whiteaker LD et al (1987) Biological invasion by Myrica faya alters ecosystem development in Hawaii. Science 238:802–804

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voesenek LACJ, Blom CWPM (1999) Stimulated shoot elongation: a mechanism of semiaquatic plants to avoid submergence stress. In: Lerner HR (ed) Plant responses to environmental stresses: from phytohormones to genome reorganization. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 431–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward KA (1991) Investigation of the flood requirements of the Moira Grass plains in Barmah Forest, Victoria. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Shepparton, Vic, Australia

  • Zedler JB, Kercher SM (2004) Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: opportunities, opportunists, and outcomes. Crit Rev Plant Sci 23(5):431–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors recognise CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship for funding this research, Keith Ward of the Goulburn-Broken Catchment Management Authority for assisting with project development, the Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Corporation, Parks Victoria and Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment for granting access to field sites and research permits, and Dr. Matt Colloff and Mr. Kimberi Pullen of CSIRO Entomology for scientific input and glasshouse and field assistance. The comments of two anonymous reviewers improved the content and presentation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Plant Industry, Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    C. Ellery Mayence, David J. Marshall & Robert C. Godfree

Authors
  1. C. Ellery Mayence
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David J. Marshall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert C. Godfree
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Ellery Mayence.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ellery Mayence, C., Marshall, D.J. & Godfree, R.C. Hydrologic and mechanical control for an invasive wetland plant, Juncus ingens, and implications for rehabilitating and managing Murray River floodplain wetlands, Australia. Wetlands Ecol Manage 18, 717–730 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-010-9191-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-010-9191-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation