Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorLutton, Susan
dc.contributor.authorSheldon, Fran
dc.contributor.authorBunn, Stuart E
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-03T12:20:48Z
dc.date.available2017-05-03T12:20:48Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.date.modified2010-10-21T05:45:09Z
dc.identifier.issn1052-7613
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/aqc.1072
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/33260
dc.description.abstract1. Natural wetlands throughout the world are under threat from water resource development required to support an ever increasing population. In the Border Rivers Catchment in Queensland, Australia, a large irrigation industry and highly variable flow regime have necessitated the building of large on-farm water storages. With the decline in number and size of natural wetlands, the presence of these storages on the floodplain has raised the question of their suitability as alternative habitat for aquatic fauna. This paper explores the variety of water storage types in the Border Rivers Catchment and how their morphology compares with that of natural wetlands - in particular, factors likely to influence aquatic biodiversity. 2. Storages and natural wetlands formed two distinct groups based on morphology. Storages tended to be large, deep structures with a more regular shape while natural wetlands were irregular and shallow with large perimeters. Although there was a degree of variability amongst the storage sites, a large proportion fell into one group and were considered 'typical storages'. Typical storages contained tailwater and had the following characteristics: situated 3 km from the source river, 10 years old, embankment height of 5m, area of 400 000m2, perimeter of 2.5km and capacity of 1 700 000m3. 3. Due to their uniform structure we believe that most on-farm storages are unlikely to support as diverse or abundant an aquatic population as natural wetlands. The presence of tailwater and associated chemicals is also likely to reduce the aquatic biodiversity of storages compared with natural wetlands. While they may be unsuitable as replacement wetlands, given their numbers they could provide significant aquatic habitat across the landscape, if managed effectively.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.format.extent699782 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons Ltd.
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationY
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom47
dc.relation.ispartofpageto57
dc.relation.ispartofjournalAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
dc.relation.ispartofvolume20
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEcosystem function
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental management
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchAgricultural, veterinary and food sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode41
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode410203
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode410404
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode30
dc.titleMorphological characteristics of on-farm water storages and their similarity to natural water bodies in the Border Rivers Catchment, Australia
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.facultyGriffith Sciences, Griffith School of Environment
gro.rights.copyright© 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Morphological characteristics of on-farm water storages and their similarity to natural water bodies in the Border Rivers Catchment, Australia, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Volume 20, Issue 1, 2010, 47-57, which has been published in final form at 10.1002/aqc.1072.
gro.date.issued2010
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorBunn, Stuart E.
gro.griffith.authorSheldon, Fran


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

  • Journal articles
    Contains articles published by Griffith authors in scholarly journals.

Show simple item record