Linking Sediment Dynamics, Riparian Vegetation and Aquatic Ecology in the Ovens River: Executive Summary

"December 2005".

Project Number: Linking Sediment Dynamics, Riparian Vegetation and Aquatic Ecology in the Ovens River - M/BUS/79.

MDFRC item.

4 pages. Executive summary of 2 part report (see Part 1: Regional patterns of riparian vegetation, erosion and sediment transport in the Ovens River basin) and (Part 2:Impact of sediment movement on the Aquatic Ecology of the Ovens River).

The Ovens is one of the last remaining unregulated rivers in Victoria, with an active floodplain and healthy native fish community. It is also an important source of water for major regional towns and agriculture. River health assessments have revealed depauperate macroinvertebrate fauna and there is also anecdotal information that submerged macrophytes have been lost from the lower section and that gravel bars are not as common as they once were. One explanation for these changes is increased sediment inputs associated with changes in land management and riparian clearing. This project attempts to first, quantify sediment input on the Ovens River using CSIRO’s SEDNET model predictions to create annual sediment budgets and identify spatial variability in sediment loads in relation to the distribution of riparian vegetation within the catchment. Second, it assesses the impact of sediment movement on aquatic biodiversity through measurements of water quality and sedimentation along with long term macroinvertebrate data collected from throughout the catchment. The report is in two parts: Part 1: Regional patterns of riparian vegetation, erosion and sediment transport in the Ovens River Basin (pages 0 to 26) and Part 2: Impact of sediment movement on the aquatic ecology of the Ovens River (pages 27 to 43).