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Environmental Water Allocation required to sustain macroinvertebrate species in ephemeral streams

Project Objectives: To determine the key drought refuges used by macroinvertebrate species in intermittently-flowing streams and determine the level of threat to each refuge posed by prolonged drying and unpredictable flow regimes To determine the role played by different types of drought refuge in restocking macroinvertebrate populations in rivers and therefore the consequences for river communities of loss of each type of drought refuge. To determine the (more)...

Cost effective surveillance of Emergence of Aquatic Weeds using Robotic Aircraft

The underlying theme of this project was to determine the potential for a robotic aerial platform to undertake surveying and spraying of aquatic weeds. To this effect we had to consider the projected capital and operational costs of the system……

Improving Management of Salvinia in Temperate Aquatic Ecosystems

Freshwater ecosystems in temperate regions in Australia remain under continued invasion by the prolific aquatic fern, Salvinia molesta because control methods have been inconsistent and ineffective. In a case study system, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, we

Effect of land use and peri-urban development on aquatic weeds

The primary objective of the proposed work was to understand the impacts of peri-urban development on aquatic weed invasions. We quantified aquatic weed abundance according to land use through desktop and field-based surveys and classified 24 species in a…

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Prevention and management of aquatic plant invasions in Australian rivers

Australian river systems are threatened by the severe effects of drought, bank erosion, sedimentation, pollutant inputs, urban development, and invasions by exotic aquatic plant species.

This publication is one of a suite of 13 produced as part of a folder showcasing research from the Defeating the Weed Menace Research and Development program.

Investigating lake/groundwater interactions at Lake Tutchewop

Salinity is an on-going environmental concern that causes damage to agricultural land, downstream water users, aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as to regional and urban infrastructure. One strategy to manage increasing salinity in the Murray Darling Basin is the construction of 13 major salt interception schemes that divert 550,000 tonnes of salt away from the Murray River each year (Figure 1). The Barr Creek Drainage Disposal Scheme is one of these schemes diverting saline water into (more)...

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Drought, the "creeping disaster"

Effects on aquatic ecosystems

As a general phenomenon to cover most situations, drought is difficult to define, though basically a drought is due to a severe, abnormal deficit in the rainfall of a region. Four major types of drought are recognised: meteorological drought, agricultural drought, hydrological drought and socio-economic drought. This report is mainly concerned with hydrological drought, which is manifested in both the availability of surface water and the levels of groundwater. There are numerous indices for drought (more)...

Investigation improvement to irrigation drainage systems

NPSI Factsheet No. 4

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority identified irrigation drainage as contributing 47% (1999) of the total catchment phosphorus loads to the Murray River each year. Environment Protection Authority guidelines for managing environmental impacts of construction projects, in this case the mobilisation and transport of sediments in both new and old drainage systems, also highlighted the need for appropriate drain construction and maintenance techniques. In response, this project (more)...