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Association of reduced riparian vegetation cover in agricultural landscapes with coarse detritus dynamics in lowland streams
journal contribution
posted on 2008-01-01, 00:00 authored by D Reid, S Lake, Gerry QuinnGerry Quinn, P ReichStudies were conducted on streams flowing through agricultural floodplains in south-eastern Australia to quantify whether reductions in riparian canopy cover were associated with alterations to the input and benthic standing stocks of coarse allochthonous detritus. Comparisons were made among three farmland reaches and three reaches within reserves with intact cover of remnant overstorey trees. Detritus inputs to these reaches were measured monthly over 2 years using litter traps. Direct inputs to streams within the reserves were relatively high (550–617 g ash free dry weight (AFDW) m–2 year–1), but were lower at farmland reaches with the lowest canopy covers (83–117 gAFDW m–2 year–1). Only a minor fraction of the total allochthonous input (<10%) entered any of the study reaches laterally. The mean amounts of benthic detritus were lowest in the most open farmland reaches. Standing stocks of benthic detritus were found to be highly patchy across a large number of agricultural streams, but were consistently very low where the streamside canopy cover was below ~35%. Canopy cover should be restored along cleared agricultural streams because allochthonous detritus is a major source of food and habitat for aquatic ecosystems. Given the absence of pristine lowland streams in south-eastern Australia, those reaches with the most intact remnant overstorey canopies should be used to guide restoration.
History
Journal
Marine and freshwater researchVolume
59Issue
11Pagination
998 - 1014Publisher
CSIROLocation
Collingwood, Vic.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1323-1650eISSN
1448-6059Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2008, CSIROUsage metrics
Read the peer-reviewed publication
Categories
Keywords
allochthonous inputcanopy covercoarse particulate organic matterEucalyptus camaldulensislitter trapScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePhysical SciencesFisheriesLimnologyMarine & Freshwater BiologyOceanographyBENTHIC ORGANIC-MATTERSOUTH-EASTERN AUSTRALIALAND-USEINTERMITTENT STREAMSECOSYSTEM METABOLISMHEADWATER STREAMSIMPACTED STREAMMOUNTAIN STREAMBUFFER STRIPS