Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland

Rivers in tropical systems across the world are well known for their strong connections with floodplain wetlands. However, increased water needs and changing climate could drive water-management policy that leads to major changes in flow or surface water availability. These changes could have delete...

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Autores principales:	Christopher E. Ndehedehe, Alex O. Onojeghuo, Ben Stewart-Koster, Stuart E. Bunn, Vagner G. Ferreira
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Primary productivity Aquatic plant biomass Wetlands Surface inundation Floodplain Landsat Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/03a10b04afc74076b53517e16b1f6022
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:03a10b04afc74076b53517e16b1f60222021-12-01T04:47:58ZUpstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107546https://doaj.org/article/03a10b04afc74076b53517e16b1f60222021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21002119https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XRivers in tropical systems across the world are well known for their strong connections with floodplain wetlands. However, increased water needs and changing climate could drive water-management policy that leads to major changes in flow or surface water availability. These changes could have deleterious effects on ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by these freshwater ecosystems (e.g., groundwater recharge, food sources for fish, etc.). In this study, we introduce a cloud-based monitoring framework using multi-resolution satellite observations (2007-2020), historical surface inundation (1984-2015), and gauge data to better understand these connections in a large river catchment in tropical Queensland (Mitchell River catchment). A key driver and indicator of floodplain productivity, surface water inundation and aquatic biomass distribution respectively, are investigated to provide insight that underpins the prioritization of future surface water developments in this region. Results show that the characteristics of floodplain inundation; loss, persistence, gain and frequency, vary in time and space, and are driven by climate variability. The largest gain (7200 Ha) and persistence (8437 Ha) in total surface inundation were observed in the wet seasons during the periods of 2007-2019, respectively. In the downstream catchment, permanent water surface area was approximately 4.5% (of the total downstream region) compared to the upstream region (2.7%). There is a higher proportion of new permanent water features (16.8%) and new seasonal (30%) surface water classes in the upstream are in contrast to the downstream section (0.7% and 9.6%, respectively). Using multivariate statistics, floodplain productivity was linked to inter-annual changes in flow and rainfall. A partial least squares regression (PLSR) model shows upstream flows drive changes in total floodplain inundation (observed vs predicted, r=0.95,p=0.000). Flows and local rainfall accounted for approximately 60% (r=0.77,p=0.005) and 25% (r=0.50,p=0.120) of the variability in total floodplain inundation, respectively. Different PLSR modelling scenarios confirmed that upstream flows are primary drivers of floodplain inundation and substantial lost in total surface inundation could happen if flows are altered. Just as local rainfall has limited impact on total floodplain inundation (r=0.92,p=0.000; for model excluding local rainfall), aquatic plant biomass accumulations are also strongly associated with upstream flows (e.g., r = 0.82). Given the dependence of downstream water level (r = 0.89) and floodplain inundation on upstream flows, sustainable management of river flows in the Mitchell River is fundamentally important to floodplain productivity.Christopher E. NdehedeheAlex O. OnojeghuoBen Stewart-KosterStuart E. BunnVagner G. FerreiraElsevierarticlePrimary productivityAquatic plant biomassWetlandsSurface inundationFloodplainLandsatEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 125, Iss , Pp 107546- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Primary productivity Aquatic plant biomass Wetlands Surface inundation Floodplain Landsat Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Primary productivity Aquatic plant biomass Wetlands Surface inundation Floodplain Landsat Ecology QH540-549.5 Christopher E. Ndehedehe Alex O. Onojeghuo Ben Stewart-Koster Stuart E. Bunn Vagner G. Ferreira Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
description	Rivers in tropical systems across the world are well known for their strong connections with floodplain wetlands. However, increased water needs and changing climate could drive water-management policy that leads to major changes in flow or surface water availability. These changes could have deleterious effects on ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by these freshwater ecosystems (e.g., groundwater recharge, food sources for fish, etc.). In this study, we introduce a cloud-based monitoring framework using multi-resolution satellite observations (2007-2020), historical surface inundation (1984-2015), and gauge data to better understand these connections in a large river catchment in tropical Queensland (Mitchell River catchment). A key driver and indicator of floodplain productivity, surface water inundation and aquatic biomass distribution respectively, are investigated to provide insight that underpins the prioritization of future surface water developments in this region. Results show that the characteristics of floodplain inundation; loss, persistence, gain and frequency, vary in time and space, and are driven by climate variability. The largest gain (7200 Ha) and persistence (8437 Ha) in total surface inundation were observed in the wet seasons during the periods of 2007-2019, respectively. In the downstream catchment, permanent water surface area was approximately 4.5% (of the total downstream region) compared to the upstream region (2.7%). There is a higher proportion of new permanent water features (16.8%) and new seasonal (30%) surface water classes in the upstream are in contrast to the downstream section (0.7% and 9.6%, respectively). Using multivariate statistics, floodplain productivity was linked to inter-annual changes in flow and rainfall. A partial least squares regression (PLSR) model shows upstream flows drive changes in total floodplain inundation (observed vs predicted, r=0.95,p=0.000). Flows and local rainfall accounted for approximately 60% (r=0.77,p=0.005) and 25% (r=0.50,p=0.120) of the variability in total floodplain inundation, respectively. Different PLSR modelling scenarios confirmed that upstream flows are primary drivers of floodplain inundation and substantial lost in total surface inundation could happen if flows are altered. Just as local rainfall has limited impact on total floodplain inundation (r=0.92,p=0.000; for model excluding local rainfall), aquatic plant biomass accumulations are also strongly associated with upstream flows (e.g., r = 0.82). Given the dependence of downstream water level (r = 0.89) and floodplain inundation on upstream flows, sustainable management of river flows in the Mitchell River is fundamentally important to floodplain productivity.
format	article
author	Christopher E. Ndehedehe Alex O. Onojeghuo Ben Stewart-Koster Stuart E. Bunn Vagner G. Ferreira
author_facet	Christopher E. Ndehedehe Alex O. Onojeghuo Ben Stewart-Koster Stuart E. Bunn Vagner G. Ferreira
author_sort	Christopher E. Ndehedehe
title	Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
title_short	Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
title_full	Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
title_fullStr	Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
title_full_unstemmed	Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland
title_sort	upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical queensland
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/03a10b04afc74076b53517e16b1f6022
work_keys_str_mv	AT christopherendehedehe upstreamflowsdrivetheproductivityoffloodplainecosystemsintropicalqueensland AT alexoonojeghuo upstreamflowsdrivetheproductivityoffloodplainecosystemsintropicalqueensland AT benstewartkoster upstreamflowsdrivetheproductivityoffloodplainecosystemsintropicalqueensland AT stuartebunn upstreamflowsdrivetheproductivityoffloodplainecosystemsintropicalqueensland AT vagnergferreira upstreamflowsdrivetheproductivityoffloodplainecosystemsintropicalqueensland
_version_	1718405704847458304

Upstream flows drive the productivity of floodplain ecosystems in tropical Queensland

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