Wetlands for the Future:
Managing Coastal Wetlands
What Are Coastal Wetlands ?
Wetlands are areas of land that are either temporarily or
permanently covered by water. They support a large variety
of plant and animal species that are adapted to fluctuating
water levels.
Coastal wetlands can loosely be described as wetlands
whose formation was dependent on marine influenced
processes. Coastal wetlands comprise a variety of different
types, including estuarine lakes and lagoons, coastal
floodplain forest, dune swamps and lagoons, mangrove and
saltmarsh swamps, coastal floodplain swamps and lagoons,
and include coastal waters that are less than 6 m deep at
low tide.
For Further Information:
Why Are Coastal Wetlands Important ?
WetlandCare Australia
PO Box 114
Ballina, New South Wales 2478
Telephone (02) 6681 6169
Facsimile (02) 6686 6866
e-mail [email protected]
www.wetlandcare.com.au
Wetlands are one of our most important yet endangered and
under-valued environments. Approximately half of
Australia’s wetlands have been lost since human settlement
and many of those remaining are degraded or threatened.
Wetlands act as the ‘kidneys’ of our waterways, filtering out
pollutants and improving the quality of water entering our
waterways.
More than 75 % of commercial fish species require wetlands
to complete part of their life cycle. Many local and migratory
birds also utilise coastal wetlands as breeding and roosting
sites.
As well as providing food and habitat for many animal and
plant species, wetlands are also a valuable buffer against
coastal erosion, storm surges and flooding.
What Are The Benefits of
Looking After Wetlands ?
Threats to Wetlands: How Can I help ?
Issue
Stock
Access
OverClearing
Impact
>
Damages fringing vegetation
>
Fence out stock
>
Increases erosion,
decreasing water quality
>
Provide an alternative water
source,
>
“Pugging” by stock can alter
wetland hydrology
>
Control introduced weeds
>
Revegetate with native
vegetation to aid bank stability.
This will reduce erosion and
sedimentation, & improve water
quality. It also increases shade,
snags and insects for fish
>
“Pugging” can create pools
where biting insects reside
that fish cannot access to
feed
>
Introduces exotic plant
species
>
Reduces fringing vegetation
>
Control weed invasions
>
Increases erosion, which
decreases water quality
>
>
Prevents shade, which
regulates water temperature
>
Reduces the habitat and food
available to aquatic animals
Increases exotic species
invasion
Revegetate with native riparian
and fringing vegetation. This will
aid bank stability, reduce
erosion and sedimentation, &
improve water quality. It also
increases shade, snags and
insects for fish
Alters the composition of
animals and plants in and
around the wetland, can
favour exotic species
>
Increases the risk of acidic
water, resulting in fish kills
>
Alters flow velocity and
timing, preventing fish
passage and spawning cues
>
Can change water type i.e.
salt to fresh
>
Introduced
species
Wetland may be grazed during
dryer times when grazing less
damaging to wetlands.
Disturbs acid sulfate soils
>
Polluted
Run-off/
Spray
drift
>
>
>
Altering
natural
flow
patterns
Remediation / Prevention
Increases erosion and
sedimentation
>
Degrades water quality
>
Can poison fish directly
>
Increases nutrients in the
water, encouraging algal
blooms (can be toxic eg. bluegreen algae) and excessive
plant growth
>
Can cause dieback of fringing
vegetation, increasing erosion
and reducing shading.
>
Can out-compete native
species
>
Changes the biodiversity and
food web
>
Can reduce water quality eg.
flood intolerant plants will rot
when inundated
>
Allow natural wetting and drying
cycles, native vegetation will
often regenerate under natural
conditions
>
Where possible, allow the
natural flow velocity and depth
of the wetland
>
Manage floodgates to allow tidal
waters past the gate
>
Where possible, allow the
natural wetting and drying cycle
of the wetland
>
Allow fish passage where
possible
>
Encourage the use of fishways
on dams and weirs
>
Avoid exposure of acid sulfate
soils and lowering groundwater
>
Where possible avoid chemical
use near waterways
>
Construct buffer strips of
vegetation to catch runoff that is
high in pollutants and nutrients
before they enter the waterway.
>
Control of introduced species
>
Try to restore the natural
attributes of the wetland – native
species survive better under
natural regimes
Management Advice and
Assistance
>
Ecotourism – healthy wetlands
can be marketed as ecotourism
sites, popular
among
bird
and nature watchers
There are a number of government
and non-government agencies that
can provide advice and assistance in
managing and repairing wetlands:
>
Better pastures – wetland species
can have a higher feed value than
planted species. Wetlands can also
provide an excellent fodder source
during drought conditions
Non-Government
> WetlandCare Australia
www.wetlandcare.com.au
> Conservation Volunteers
Australia
www.conservationvolunteers.
com.au
> Greening Australia
www.greeningaustralia.org.au
> Landcare
www.landcareaustralia.com.au
> WWF Australia
www.wwf.org.au
> Birds Australia
www.birdsaustralia.com.au
>
Cost Reduction – conversion of
marginal faming land to wetland
areas can reduce farm production
costs
>
Reduction in Rat numbers – rat
populations may be reduced by
maintaining wetland vegetation,
providing habitat for rat predators
>
Streambank stability – promotion
of wetland vegetation can prevent
streambank erosion and loss of
productive land
>
Better water quality - wetlands
act as filters to improve water
quality
>
Absorption of floodwaters –
wetlands can mitigate the effects of
flooding
>
Improved fish stocks – healthy
wetlands promote healthy fish
stocks
>
Aesthetics – have a beautiful
wetland in your backyard
>
Conservation of plant and
animal species – maintenance of
healthy wetlands will promote the
survival of wetland species
>
Grant
payments
–
one-off
payments are available through a
number of government and nongovernment organisations to assist
landholders in changing the
management of their land toward
sustainability and conservation
>
Tax reliefs – a number of local
governments and regional bodies
offer schemes that reduce or
remove
rates
on
wetlands
managed for conservation.
Government
> NSW Fisheries
www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au
> NSW Agriculture
www.agric.nsw.gov.au
> National Parks
www.npws.nsw.gov.au
> Coast Care
www.environment.gov.au
> Local Councils
Further Reading
WetlandCare Australia (2003)
Wetland Information Kit. Wetland
Information
for
Managers.
WetlandCare Australia. Ballina,
NSW.
Wetland Management Assistance
for
Private
Lanholders
Inforrmation Kit. Environment
Australia. www.deh.gov.au
NSW Fisheries (2001) Fishnote,
Wetlands & Floodplains. NSW
Fisheries Office of Conservation.
Ballina, NSW
Johnston et al. (2003) Restoring
The Balance – Guidelines for
Managing
Floodgates
and
Drainage Systems on Coastal
Floodplains. NSW Agriculture.
Grafton NSW.
Smith,
R.
(2003)
Coastal
Backswamps: Restoring their
values. WetlandCare Australia,
Ballina NSW.
Author: M Westlake
Acknowledgements: C Burns