Forests and woodlands of Australia's rivers and floodplains

Australia's floodplain and riparian environments are dynamic, boom-bust systems shaped by spatial and temporal variation in water availability. Plant communities occupying riparian and floodplain environments broadly follow predictable patterns in terms of structure and diversity according to water availability (both surface and groundwater) in the landscape. Dense, often structurally complex and diverse woodlands and forests occupy positions close to the river, while open woodland communities with large old trees and very little midstorey occupy the floodplains. Recruitment dynamics of floodplain species are dictated by the timing, duration, frequency, depth, magnitude and rate of rise and fall of floodwaters. However, regulation of river systems and transformation of floodplain environments by urban and agricultural activity has resulted in a disconnection between rivers and their floodplains, to the detriment of a variety of ecological functions required to maintain floodplain and riparian ecosystems, as well as instream habitats. Many billions of dollars in revenue emanates from agricultural industries that utilise the rich fertile soils laid down by successive flood events, and competing interests for water highlight ongoing tensions over the management of these environments. The future of Australia's floodplain ecosystems relies on a sound understanding of the requirements of the species that occupy these environments and balancing environmental and human water demands in an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable context.