Saltwater Intrusion and Morphological Change at the Mouth of the East Alligator River, Northern Territory

Winn, Kyaw; Saynor, M.J.; Eliot, Matt; Elio, I.

doi:10.2112/05a-0011.1

Cited by 54 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…As a result, there has been a 9-fold increase in the area of bare saline mudflats in the East Alligator River region of Northern Australia (Fig. 2, Table 2) since the 1950s, and a 64% decrease in the area of freshwater wetlands (Winn et al 2006).…”

Section: Salinization Of Coastal Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land-clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de-icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil-water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, alter the biogeochemical cycling of major elements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and silica. The effects of salinization on wetland biogeochemistry typically include decreased inorganic nitrogen removal (with implications for water quality and climate regulation), decreased carbon storage (with implications for climate regulation and wetland accretion), and increased generation of toxic sulfides (with implications for nutrient cycling and the health/functioning of wetland biota). Indeed, increased salt and sulfide concentrations induce physiological stress in wetland biota and ultimately can result in large shifts in wetland communities and their associated ecosystem functions. The productivity and composition of freshwater species assemblages will be highly altered, and there is a high potential for the disruption of existing interspecific interactions. Although there is a wealth of information on how salinization impacts individual ecosystem components, relatively few studies have addressed the complex and often non-linear feedbacks that determine ecosystem-scale responses or considered how wetland salinization will affect landscape-level processes. Although the salinization of wetlands may be unavoidable in many cases, these systems may also prove to be a fertile testing ground for broader ecological theories including (but not limited to): investigations into alternative stable states and tipping points, trophic cascades, disturbance-recovery processes, and the role of historical events and landscape context in driving community response to disturbance.

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Section: Salinization Of Coastal Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

et al. 2015

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“…In the Kakadu region, above average ocean water levels may be assisted by drier than average monsoonal conditions and the local influence of feral buffalo (Knighton et al 1991;Winn et al 2006).…”

Section: Recent Changes In the Extent Of Australian Saltmarshmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sea-level rise presents an opportunity and threat to coastal saltmarsh, depending on rates of sediment supply, local topographic conditions and barriers to transgression. Several studies have strongly implicated relative sea-level rise as a driver of changes already observed, including, tidal creek reactivation and saline intrusion in brackish wetlands in tropical Australia (Winn et al 2006), mangrove encroachment in southeastern Australia (Rogers et al 2006), and conversion of Tecticornia shrubland to Sarcocornia herbfield and open water in Tasmania (Prahalad et al 2011). In many developed coastal lowlands, the fate of coastal saltmarsh as an ecological community rests with local planning instruments.…”

Section: Summary Of Climate Change Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The significance and vulnerability of Australian saltmarshes: implications for management in a changing climate

Saintilan¹,

Rogers

2013

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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We review the distribution, status and ecology of Australian saltmarshes and the mechanisms whereby enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide and associated climate change have influenced and will influence the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Research in temperate and subtropical saltmarsh has demonstrated important trophic contributions to estuarine fisheries, mediated by the synchronised massspawning of crabs, which feed predominantly on the C-4 saltmarsh grass Sporobolus virginicus and microphytobenthos. Saltmarshes also provide unique feeding and habitat opportunities for several species of threatened microbats and birds, including migratory shorebirds. Saltmarshes increased in extent relative to mangrove in Australia in both tide-and wave-dominated geomorphic settings through the latter Holocene, although historic trends have seen a reversal of this trend. Australian saltmarshes have some capacity to maintain elevation with respect to rising sea level, although in south-eastern Australia, the encroachment of mangrove and, in Tasmania, conversion of shrubland to herbfield in the past half-century are consistent with changes in relative sea level. Modelling of the impacts of projected sea-level rise, incorporating sedimentation and other surface-elevation drivers, suggests that the survival of saltmarsh in developed estuaries will depend on the flexible management of hard structures and other impediments to wetland retreat.

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“…Mangrove coverage in the Northern Territory was reported for 4,120 km 2 , in Western Australia for 2,520 km 2 (Galloway 1982), and with a further 1,140 km 2 in the Gulf of Carpentaria and northern part of Cape York (Dowling and McDonald 1982). Despite some development around a few places such as Darwin, these figures are not expected to have changed greatly, although there has been some expansion in places, for example, in the Alligator Rivers of Kakadu National Park (Winn et al 2006;Mitchell et al 2007), although there may be a response to inter-decadal variation in climate (Winn et al 2006). …”

Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of ecological information on Australia’s northern tropical rivers and wetlands

Lukacs

Finlayson

2010

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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The northern tropical river and wetland systems of Australia cover a vast and mostly remote area. Comparably little is known of wetland type, species diversity, ecological processes and ecosystem services. Systematic inventory and classification is lacking and research remains disparate in purpose and coverage. An integrated framework is used to evaluate results from three multidisciplinary studies across various scales to synthesise available knowledge relating to key ecological attributes across both the study region and within focus areas. The utility of geomorphic and hydrological classification at coarse scales is supported but the unavailability of biological data at corresponding and finer spatial and temporal scales constrains the potential for ecological inventory and classification utilising existing information. Future inventory and ecological studies across this and similar vast study areas need to consider the apriori development of a user-driven data framework and the development of specific investigatory tools to overcome technical and other barriers associated with the requirements of multi-scalar ecological studies.

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Saltwater Intrusion and Morphological Change at the Mouth of the East Alligator River, Northern Territory

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

The significance and vulnerability of Australian saltmarshes: implications for management in a changing climate

An evaluation of ecological information on Australia’s northern tropical rivers and wetlands

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