Land use practices over the last 200 years have dramatically altered the distribution and amount of riparian vegetation throughout many catchments in Australia. This has lead to a number of negative impacts including a decrease in water quality, an increase in sediment transport and a decrease in the quality of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The task of restoring the functions of riparian zones is an enormous one and requires spatial and temporal prioritisation. An analysis of the existing and historical functions of riparian zones and their spatial distribution is a major aid to this process and will enable efficient use of remediation resources. The approach developed in this thesis combines remote sensing, field measurement and terrain analysis to describe the distribution of five riparian zone functions: sediment trapping, bank stabilization, denitrification, stream shading and large woody debris production throughout a large semi-arid catchment in central Queensland.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245335 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Lymburner, Leo |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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