Development of a Wetland Catchment Disturbance Index - Draft

Product Information

A Wetland Catchment Disturbance Index (WCDI) based on wetland catchment land use data has been developed in Victoria. The WCDI forms one of six themes that will together report on wetland condition at a National level through the framework for comparable assessment of the ecological condition of Australian rivers and wetlands, which is being implemented by the National Water Commission.

The WCDI is applicable to naturally-occurring wetlands without a marine or riverine hydrological influence. Future iterations of the WCDI will investigate including riverine (floodplain) wetlands.

The concepts of wetlands, wetland condition and wetlands drivers are explained in the context of a general wetland conceptual model adapted from the Victorian Index of Wetland Condition (IWC). Wetland catchments and wetland catchment disturbance are detailed in a conceptual framework, which also explores the relationship between wetland catchment disturbance and wetland condition.

Due to the absence of quantitative wetland catchment disturbance data, quantitative wetland catchment disturbance models could not be constructed at this stage. In the absence of this data, a Landscape Disturbance Index (LDI), that was developed to assist with the testing of the IWC, has been used to provide a measure of catchment disturbance. LDI/WCDI scores were calculated for 27 wetland catchments and surrogate wetlands catchments in the Wimmera region of Victoria.

Future work on the WCDI should include: an assessment of available data sets in jurisdictions outside Victoria, testing of the reliability and accuracy of the expert opinion approach used in the development of the LDI and CDWI, testing the currency and accuracy of the land use data used in the development of the LDI and CDWI and experimental validation methods as a means of validating the LDI and WCDI.