10.26181/5d254ec5955ad Cherie Campbell Cherie Campbell Samantha Capon Samantha Capon Susan Gehrig Susan Gehrig Cassandra James Cassandra James Kaylene Morris Kaylene Morris Jason Nicol Jason Nicol Daryl Nielsen Daryl Nielsen Rachael Thomas Rachael Thomas Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Water Knowledge and Research Project: Vegetation Theme Research Report La Trobe 2019 Environmental water assessment vegetation communities germination success mesocosms EWKR seedbank watering requirements environmental water delivery floodplain habitiat complexity Plant Biology Community Ecology (excl. Invasive Species Ecology) Ecology Ecosystem Function Environmental Management Environmental Science 2019-07-17 07:13:31 Journal contribution https://opal.latrobe.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Murray-Darling_Basin_Environmental_Water_Knowledge_and_Research_Project_Vegetation_Theme_Research_Report/8847977 The EWKR vegetation theme sought to:<br>1. Provide a framework and guiding principles to help define the process of ‘what are we watering for and why?’ to help refine objectives, define function and value, and select indicators across a range of spatial and temporal scales, given the myriad of potential vegetation outcomes; and<br>2. Improve predictive capacity and the underlying knowledge base by determining drivers of responses to watering actions, for:<br>a. Existing understory communities<br>b. Seed bank diversity<br>c. Woody seedling establishment<br>d. Lignum structure<br>The EWKR vegetation theme shows that there is incredible variation in local plant communities and associated seed banks in space and time. This is even though many wetland and floodplain species have wide distributions, are largely cosmopolitan species and are rarely considered endemic. The vegetation theme looked at what causes this variation and how to predict it, and we are beginning to be able to determine community assembly rules. We’re starting to be able to: i) identify what the significant drivers are; ii) determine their relative importance; and iii) understand their interactions.