Description:
There is no comprehensive system of describing threats and disturbances currently used in Australia, despite the widespread impacts of human activities on natural ecosystems. Yet a detailed categorization would facilitate the collation of threatening process information into information systems; enable standardized collection and availability of data; and enable comparative analyses of ecosystem condition between stakeholders, agencies, states, and nations, particularly for environmental reporting and evaluation mechanisms such as State of the Environment. As part of the Queensland Wetlands Programme (QWP), a threat and disturbance framework was developed, focused on the pressure and impacts components of the DPSIR (driver-pressure-state-impacts-response) framework. A wetland inventory database was developed also that included a detailed threat and disturbance categorization using the QWP framework. The categorization encompasses a broad range of anthropogenic and natural processes, and is hierarchical to accommodate varying levels of detail or knowledge. By incorporating detailed qualitative and quantitative information, a comprehensive threats and disturbances categorization can contribute to conceptual or spatially explicit knowledge and management assessments. The application of the framework and categorization to several threatening processes is demonstrated, and its relationship to current natural resource condition indicators is discussed. Threat evaluation is an essential component of ecological assessment and environmental management, and a standardized categorization enables consistency in attributing processes, impacts and their short- to long-term consequences. Such a systematic framework and categorization demonstrates the importance and usefulness of comprehensive approaches, and this approach can be readily adapted to management, monitoring and evaluation of other target ecosystems and biota.
Description:
Wet grasslands are threatened by future climate change, yet these are vital ecosystems for both conservation and agriculture, providing livelihoods for millions of people. These biologically diverse, transitional wetlands are defined by an abundance of grasses and periodic flooding, and maintained by regular disturbances such as grazing or cutting. This study summarizes relevant climate change scenarios projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and identifies implications for wet grasslands globally and regionally. Climate change is predicted to alter wet grassland hydrology, especially through warming, seasonal precipitation variability, and the severity of extreme events such as droughts and floods. Changes in the diversity, composition, and productivity of vegetation will affect functional and competitive relations between species. Extreme storm or flood events will favor ruderal plant species able to respond rapidly to environmental change. In some regions, wet grasslands may dry out during heatwaves and drought. C4 grasses and invasive species could benefit from warming scenarios, the latter facilitated by disturbances such as droughts, floods, and possibly wildfires. Agriculture will be affected as forage available for livestock will likely become less reliable, necessitating adaptations to cutting and grazing regimes by farmers and conservation managers, and possibly leading to land abandonment. It is recommended that agri-environment schemes, and other policies and practices, are adapted to mitigate climate change, with greater emphasis on water maintenance, flexible management, monitoring, and restoration of resilient wet grasslands.
Description:
Wet grasslands are threatened by future climate change, yet these are vital ecosystems for both conservation and agriculture, providing livelihoods for millions of people. These biologically diverse, transitional wetlands are defined by an abundance of grasses and periodic flooding, and maintained by regular disturbances such as grazing or cutting. This study summarizes relevant climate change scenarios projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and identifies implications for wet grasslands globally and regionally. Climate change is predicted to alter wet grassland hydrology, especially through warming, seasonal precipitation variability, and the severity of extreme events such as droughts and floods. Changes in the diversity, composition, and productivity of vegetation will affect functional and competitive relations between species. Extreme storm or flood events will favor ruderal plant species able to respond rapidly to environmental change. In some regions, wet grasslands may dry out during heatwaves and drought. C4 grasses and invasive species could benefit from warming scenarios, the latter facilitated by disturbances such as droughts, floods, and possibly wildfires. Agriculture will be affected as forage available for livestock will likely become less reliable, necessitating adaptations to cutting and grazing regimes by farmers and conservation managers, and possibly leading to land abandonment. It is recommended that agri-environment schemes, and other policies and practices, are adapted to mitigate climate change, with greater emphasis on water maintenance, flexible management, monitoring, and restoration of resilient wet grasslands.