| 1 | Introduction |
| 2 | Aquifer Types |
| 3 | Groundwater Salinity |
| 4 | Groundwater in the MDB |
| 5 | Groundwater dependant Ecosystems |
| 6 | Conclusion |
| 7 | References |
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5. Groundwater Dependant Ecosystems
Groundwater resources are important throughout most of the Murray-Darling Basin, but especially in areas of limited and/or unreliable surface resources. These groundwater resources are contained within a number of aquifer systems, each with its own special management and monitoring requirements. Many aquifer systems contain useable groundwater supplies and water authorities in each state are working to increase groundwater sustainability.
Groundwater resources require careful and improved management. Over recent years, much research work has been undertaken across the Murray-Darling Basin. While there is an increasing understanding of the resources, more work is required to apply this knowledge to management solutions of the major groundwater and land salinisation problems.
Further information can be found within the MDB Groundwater Status Report (Ife & Skelt 2004). The report concluded that the sustainability of the resource is an issue that needs to be addressed through a number of initiatives, including
| Swamp sclerophyll forests and woodlands | These are a widely distributed group of ecosystems that exhibit atleast seasonal dependency on groundwater. They include a wide range of eucalypt species that occupy the riparian corridors of ephemeral or baseflow dependent streams, such as the River Redgum (E. camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) woodlands of the Murray and Darling River floodplain. |
| Swap scrubs and heaths | This type of ecosystem normally occupies sandy or peaty soils in landscapes such the swampy areas fed by snow melt in the MDB highlands. |
| Swamp shrublands | Lignum (Meuhlenbeckia cunninghamii) dominated shrublands are common features of the inland ephemeral strea and lake systems of Murray-Darling Basin. Groundwater dependency is suspected but the exact nature of the relationship is unknown (Hatton and Evans 1998). |
| Sedgelands | Many sedgeland communities exist in the floodplain and riparian zones throughout the Murray-Darling Basin. Most require at least seasonal waterlogging and those which require permanent water are almost certainly groundwater dependent (e.g Eleocharis sphacelate sedgelands in lagoons of the Murray River and tributaries and Baumea sedgelands of the Coorong). |
| Springs & Wetlands of the GAB | Mound springs and wetlands are present in the northern MDB which are reliant on the natural discharge from the groundwater of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). These systems have a unique flora and fauna which are entirely dependent upon groundwater. |