Evaluation of long-term rainfall decline impacts on small-scale semi-arid endorheic basins and application to Lake Muir-Unicup Natural Diversity Recovery Catchment

The effects from long-term rainfall decline in Southwestern Australia are being felt in a wide range of environments. Of those, highly weathered terminal catchments, also known as endorheic basins, are of particular importance, as these areas often develop as biodiversity hotspots and provide critical and unique habitat to endemic and migrating species. This thesis investigated which mechanisms in the dynamics of terminal catchments need to be understood (conceptualisation) and quantified (numerical framework) to assess impacts from long-term rainfall decline, providing a blueprint for use in other areas of similar settings.