43 | P a g e situ cells with low permeability. Case studies presenting historic longwall mine dewatering of several major projects in New South Wales indicate excellent
calibration to pressure and inflow using this technique. Future studies could utilize this method in combination with fracture enhancement predictions from COSFLOW (Adhikary 2007) modelling.
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Murray Darling Basin groundwater management under the Basin Plan
Kristanne Mahony 1 , Tariq Rana 1 , Nicole McLaughlan 1 , Alice Shields 1 , Rebecca Nixon 1
1. MDBA, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Groundwater is a vital source of water throughout Australia and the world. Similar to many other places, groundwater is the only reliable source of water for many rural and remote communities, mining operations and agricultural industries in many parts of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). Groundwater also supports the MDB environment with some ecosystems and species completely dependent on groundwater to meet their needs and others using groundwater to supplement surface water flows. River red gums, for example, are an iconic species with deep roots that access
groundwater. Many such groundwater dependent ecosystems are significant cultural places for Aboriginal nations.
In the past, the complexity and importance of groundwater has not been well
recognised and the connection between groundwater and surface water has not been well understood. This had, at times, led to inadequate management of this precious and finite resource, resulting in issues associated with access and water quality. In response to such concerns, State water management arrangements for groundwater made many interventions to address issues and in 2007 the Water Act (2007) was passed by the Australian Parliament. A requirement of the Water Act was that the Murray-Darling Basin Authority be set up and develop the Basin Plan with the aim to bring the Basin back to a healthier and sustainable level of water use, while
continuing to support farming and other industries.
The Basin Plan sets the amount of groundwater that can be taken from the Basin’s groundwater resources each year and ensures groundwater is monitored and
managed through local water plans and water resource plans (WRPS). WRPs outline the mechanisms for achieving community, environmental, economic and cultural outcomes in accordance with the Basin Plan requirements. The Authority is working with Basin state governments to ensure the management arrangements detailed in WRPs consider relevant risks to ensure sustainable management of groundwater resources across the Basin. This management regime ensures the risks to the
Basin’s groundwater resources are effectively managed and adaptively reviewed over time.
Mapping groundwater dependence in data poor areas: analysis of earth observation data in the Isa Geological and Bioregional Assessment region, north-west Queensland, Australia
Prachi Dixon-Jain 1 , Bex Dunn 1 , Sam M. Buchanan 1 , Vanessa Newey 1 , Steven J.
Lewis 1
1. Geoscience Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
The Australian Government's Geological and Bioregional Assessment (GBA) Program is assessing potential impacts of shale and tight gas development on water resources and the environment in three onshore basins: Cooper, Isa and Beetaloo. The Isa GBA region is host to two major groundwater systems: a deeper Proterozoic system and a shallower system associated with sediments of the Carpentaria and Karumba basins, collectively part of the Great Artesian Basin. If shale gas were to be developed in the
45 | P a g e future there could be potential to impact groundwater and surface water and the ecosystems that rely on these resources.
Surface water – groundwater interactions are a key component of the hydrological system, important for supporting a variety of environmental assets. Analysis of earth observation data in this remote region has helped assess the interactions between surface water and groundwater where the availability of other spatial and temporal datasets is limited. In particular, new remote sensing methods have enabled rapid and consistent mapping of parts of the landscape with potential dependence on groundwater.
Two remote sensing products (Water Observations from Space summary statistics and Tasselled Cap Index wetness exceedance) were used to investigate the
persistence of surface water and soil moisture in the landscape. In this region, areas that retain water for at least 80% of the time or are wet during the dry season (May to October) are likely to have a reliable groundwater source or access to
groundwater during periods of limited rainfall. These areas most likely support groundwater dependent ecosystems, including springs.
Preliminary analysis of earth observation data has enhanced understanding of surface water – groundwater interactions in the Isa GBA region, complementing analysis of sparse streamflow, groundwater and hydrochemistry data. Targeted field validation could improve understanding of groundwater dependence in the landscape and enhance confidence in the findings of this assessment.
A new approach to prioritising groundwater dependent vegetation communities in New South Wales, Australia
Jodie Dabovic 1 , Allan Raine 2 , Lucy Dobbs 1 , Glenn Byrne 2 1. Department of Industry, Water, Gosford, NSW, Australia 2. Department of Industry, Water, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Objectives: The NSW Water Management Act 2000, associated Water Sharing Plans, and the Basin Plan 2012, require NSW Department Industry, Water to identify groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) and prioritise the most ecologically valuable within each plan area for protection. The High Ecological Value Aquatic Ecosystems (HEVAE) framework has already been adopted to prioritise riverine ecosystems for management in surface water sharing plans. Here, we provide a method developed using the HEVAE framework to prioritise terrestrial vegetation GDEs for management.
Design and Methodology: The GDE HEVAE method is developed as a spatial model, that uses recorded and predicted distribution data, and mapped vegetation data to provide weighted scores for each attribute associated with the four HEVAE criteria (distinctiveness, diversity, vital habitat and naturalness) and are combined into an overall score. The combined scores categorise the ecological value of each
groundwater dependent vegetation community (depicted as GIS polygon features) from very high to very low.
Original data and results: This method determined outcomes to assist NSW water management activities for water sharing plans and water resource plans under the Basin Plan. The outcomes can be represented as maps to provide a visual
representation of locations of vegetation communities of ecological value, and as an attributed dataset to allow the user to look at each individual attribute and the associated criteria to determine the key drivers contributing to the scores.
46 | P a g e Conclusion: The methods developed have provided a systematic, repeatable and transparent approach to integrated related information. This to helps prioritise areas of importance for water management needs such as; scheduling of GDEs into water sharing plans, using consequence scores within risk assessments, allowing
individuals to locate GDEs of varying ecological value to inform other assessments, and prioritisation of areas to undertake monitoring and evaluation. When coupled with the NSW Riverine HEVAE methods, ecological value of assigned groundwater and riverine GDEs are consistently assigned.
The Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDE) Atlas' role in decision- making
Eloise Nation 1 , Ben Digregorio 1 , Lacey Elsum 1 , Elisabetta Carrara 1 , Natasha Amerasinghe 2 , Sarah Taylor 2
1. Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2. Office of Water Science, Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Objectives: Information identifying the location and characteristics of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) is a key input for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and water management plans (Nelson, 2019). The Bureau of
Meteorology’s GDE Atlas is Australia’s comprehensive national inventory of GDEs (Hoyos et al., 2016). The National Groundwater Strategic Framework identifies the Atlas as a key source of groundwater-surface water connectivity information. The Atlas is also an important tool identified in the Independent Expert Scientific
Committees’ Information Guidelines. It is used across multiple levels of government, industry, consulting, natural resource management and by the general public. To maximise the impact and value of the Atlas its future development will be based on clear strategic direction and understanding of user requirements. This presentation will show how recent developments have improved the Atlas for use in decision- making using a case study from the EIA process.
Design and methodology: Stakeholder engagement activities were undertaken in 2017 – 2019 including establishing a GDE Reference Group and conducting
workshops and surveys. This established the needs of key stakeholders (GDE Atlas users, GDE data custodians and GDE experts) for future development of the Atlas.
Results: Stakeholder requirements included timely GDE data updates, infilling of missing GDE data coverage, additional datasets (e.g. groundwater levels), web services and supporting information (e.g. updated GDE Toolbox). These
requirements informed the development the "GDE Atlas Future Directions 2018 – 2024", a 5-year strategy for updating the Atlas.
Conclusion: The Bureau, together with the GDE Reference Group, is delivering the Future Directions strategy through establishing regular, streamlined GDE data updates, updating the GDE data model, developing a business case for updating the GDE Toolbox and publishing GDE web services. These developments will provide a comprehensive and current suite of GDE information for use in decision-making including the EIA process.
1. Hoyos, I. C., Krakauer, N. Y., Khanbilvardi, R., & Armstrong, R. A. (2016). A Review of Advances in the Identification and Characterization of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Using Geospatial Technologies. Retrieved 4 24, 2019, from https://mdpi.com/2076-
3263/6/2/17
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2. Nelson, R. (2019, April). Water data and the legitimacy deficit: a regulatory review and nationwide survey of challenges considering cumulative environmental effects of coal and coal seam gas developments. AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES, 1-12.
Root-zone “Periscope” and its applications for investigating plant- water relations and modelling transpiration
Huade Guan 1
1. National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
Since the first stoma appeared about 400 million years ago, moisture exchange between lands and the atmosphere extends into the root zone. However, due to its invisibility from the surface, root distribution and its temporal variation are difficult to estimated, which greatly hinders investigation of soil-plant-water relations and
transpiration modelling. Plant water potential reflects dynamic water condition in vegetation, which is determined by moisture supply in the root zone, atmospheric demand, and plant physiological control. Thus, dynamic water potential can provide a “periscope” to observe root zone hydraulic conditions. Based on this hydraulic connection in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC), plant individuals work very likely as “observation wells” to the whole root zone at predawn, and as
“pumping test wells” in daytime. They provide information to estimate root-zone and plant hydraulic states, and hydraulic properties. In this presentation, we will show how this root-zone periscope concept, based on continuous monitoring of plant water potential, has been used in SPAC model development, root water uptake model improvement, transpiration model parameterisation, as well as investigation of plant drought responses.
Drought-Induced hydrogeological impact causing dieback in a grassy woodland threatened ecological community, Monaro, NSW, Australia.
Leah Moore 1 , Jo Powells 2 , Nicki Taws 3 , Lauren Van Dyke 4 , Alison Cowood 1 1. Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia 2. South East Local Land Service, Cooma, NSW, Australia
3. Greening Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
4. Upper Snowy Landcare Network, Cooma, NSW, Australia
Widespread (~200,000 ha) drought-induced dieback of Eucalyptus viminalis, the dominant species in the Tablelands Snow Gum, Black Sallee, Candlebark and Ribbon Gum Grassy Woodland threatened ecological community, is severely impacting native vegetation health and causing habitat loss in the Monaro. Past debate about the causes of E viminalis mortality in this area (Ross and Brack, 2015; 2017; Jurskis, 2016) had equivocal findings. There is international consensus that greater
understanding of the links between tree mortality and climate change, when trees are under chronic or acute water stress, is needed (Allen et al. 2010, Booth 2017, Correa et al. 2017, Prober et al. 2017a, 2017b, Curtis 2019). An understanding of hydrogeological landscape (HGL) processes (Moore et al. 2018) in this landscape, specifically access to groundwater, allowed causal factors for tree dieback to be evaluated. Extreme climate impacts since the early 2000s have influenced root access to groundwater in parts of the landscape (this study) in a manner that caused stress for an extended period afterward (see White 1969, Lynch and Cowood 2018) making trees susceptible to secondary impacts (e.g. insect strike with limited insect
48 | P a g e predation due to land clearing/open landscapes and changes in fire cycles) resulting in localised tree mortality. This impact is apparent even when predisposing cohort factors (e.g. tree age, natural range) are considered. Clarification of the HGL processes operating in areas of tree dieback, explains why the pattern of impact differs in different parts of the landscape allowing strategic targeting of restoration actions. For the 2060-2079 NARCLIM (12 model) climate projection, E
viminalis shows high (>80%) consensus for climate stress across the Monaro (MacKenzie, 2018; personal communication). Use of the HGL framework allows the evaluation of other potential stressors (e.g. land/water salinity, solute/toxin
transport, soil sodicity/erosion susceptibility) and informs targeted natural resource management to accommodate future climate and land-use change.
1. Allen, C. D., et al. (19 authors) (2010) A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests. Forest Ecology and
Management, 259(4), pp. 660-684.
2. Booth T.H. (2017) Impacts of climate change on eucalypt distributions in Australia: an examination of a recent study. Australian Forestry 80:4, pages 208-215.
3. Corrêa T.R, de Toledo Picoli E.A., de Souza G.A., Condé S.A., Silva N.M., Lopes-Mattos K.L.B., de Resende M.D.V., Zauza E.A.V. and Oda S. (2017) Phenotypic markers in early selection for tolerance to dieback in Eucalyptus. Industrial Crops and Products 107, pages 130-138.
4. Curtis E.J., Gorrod E.J., Ellis M.V. and Chisholm L.A. (2019) A spatio-temporal analysis of canopy dynamics and intra-stand competition in a riparian forest, south-eastern Australia.
Forest Ecology and Management 432, pages 189-199.
5. Jurskis V. (2016) ‘Dieback’ (chronic decline) of Eucalyptus viminalis on the Monaro is not new, unique or difficult to explain. Australian Forestry 79:4, pages 261-264.
6. Lynch A.J.J. and Cowood A.L. (2018). Blakely’s Red Gum dieback in the ACT: Report to ACT Government Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra.
7. Moore C.L., Jenkins B.R., Cowood A.L., Nicholson A., Muller R., Wooldridge A., Cook W., Wilford J.R., Littleboy M., Winkler M. and Harvey K. (2018) Hydrogeological Landscapes framework, a biophysical approach to landscape characterisation and salinity hazard assessment. Soil Research, 56, pages 1-18.
8. Prober S.M., Colloff M.J., Abel N., Crimp S., Doherty M.D., Dunlop M., Eldridge D.J., Gorddard R., Lavorel S., Metcalfe D.J., Murphy H.T., Ryan P. and Williams K.J. (2017a) Informing climate adaptation pathways in multi-use woodland landscapes using the values- rules-knowledge framework. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 241, pages 39-53.
9. Prober S.M., Williams K.J., Broadhurst L.M. and Doerr V.A.J. (2017b) Nature conservation and ecological restoration in a changing climate: what are we aiming for? The Rangeland Journal 39:6, pages 477.
10. Ross C. and Brack C. (2015) Eucalyptus viminalis dieback in the Monaro region, NSW.
Journal of Australian Forestry Volume 78/4, p243-253.
11. Ross C. and Brack. (2017) Monaro dieback: simple answers are too simple. Australian Forestry 80:2, pages 113-114.
12. White T.C.R. (1969) An index to measure weather-induced stress of trees associated with outbreaks of Psyllids in Australia. Ecology 50:5, pages 905-909.
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Multidisciplinary and adaptive approach to assessing groundwater dependence of River Oak community in NSW Hunter coalfields
Adam P. Skorulis 1
1. SLR Consulting, North Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Changes in government policy and legislation in recent years has led to increased focus on understanding the groundwater dependence of ecosystems potentially impacted by coal and csg activities. This presentation outlines a study conducted at an operational underground coal mine in the NSW Hunter Coalfields that employed adaptive management techniques to characterise the local groundwater regime and provide advice on the likely level of groundwater dependence of vegetation within an approved area of future mining. The study focusses on vegetation and an aquifer associated with an ephemeral creek that discharges from steep headwaters on to a low-gradient alluvial plain overlying coal measures that will be mined in future using longwall methods.
The study was conducted in an iterative, staged approach that involved collaboration between the client, consultants from multiple disciplines and a government agency.
The study included an ecological assessment that identified a River Oak vegetation community, localised along the creek, as the only community likely to be
groundwater dependant. While previous surface water assessments provided information on the flow regime. The groundwater component involved field
investigations to understand the local geology and groundwater conditions. Findings from the fieldwork, and the ecological assessment were used to locally update an existing regional scale numerical groundwater model. The purpose of the modelling was to establish whether evapotranspiration was simulated across the study area, indicating likely interaction between vegetation and groundwater. Predictive
scenarios identified changes in groundwater levels due to mining that may adversely impact vegetation interacting with the groundwater system.
Based on these findings and collaboration between the various technical disciplines, the level of reliance of River Oak community on alluvial groundwater was assessed.
The study also looked into where uncertainty may remain in understanding
groundwater reliance over time, and from this a targeted monitoring program was developed to enable ongoing adaptive management.
This presentation will outline the methodology, findings and key learnings from the process. This includes discussion on the value and challenges with communication between different technical disciplines and stakeholders.
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