Vegetation responses to flow regimes are influenced by both the temporal and spatial scale at which responses are assessed as well as the level of ecological organisation. The distribution and abundance of plant species is influenced by hydrological conditions in the short-term (such as duration, depth and rates of change) as well as longer-term hydrological conditions such as flood frequency and time-since-inundation. Equally, the distribution and abundance of plant species in space and time, in turn, determine the composition and structure of vegetation communities and assemblages of communities, referred to here as ‘vegscapes’.
The Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) Program aims to assess responses across a range of scales. The Vegetation Diversity component of the Basin evaluation uses data collected by Monitoring and Evaluation Providers at Selected Areas, in combination with data and analyses made available by other Basin Matter components, particularly Hydrology and Ecosystem Diversity. The aim is to evaluate the effects of Commonwealth environmental water on the diversity of plants and vegetation communities with respect to: plant species-level, vegetation community-level and vegscape-level responses.
Using the first year of data this presentation discusses the challenges and opportunities in assessing vegetation responses at a Basin-scale, including spatial variability in diversity responses, complexity in the range of watering regimes / events, heterogeneity responses at landscape scales and the ability to predict responses in unmonitored areas.
The LTIM Program is funded by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office.