The botanical composition and structure of wetland vegetation from seven sites
in the alpine and subalpine tracts of the Bogong High Plains was sampled in
1995 and 1996. Sites were in the vicinity of Mts Nelse, Cope and Fainter.
Sampling was based on contiguous 1-m2 quadrats along
transects 20−70 m long across each wetland. Samples were ordinated using
non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Floristic variation was assessed
both within selected individual wetlands, and between wetlands from different
regions. The relationship between the ordinations and environmental variables
such as soil surface texture, soil depth and the amount of bare ground was
tested by fitting vectors. Three dominant vegetation assemblages were
identified. Closed heath, of hygrophyllous, scleromorphic shrubs such as
Richea continentis and
Baeckea gunniana, the rush
Empodisma minus and the moss
Sphagnum cristatum occurred on the deeper peats. Low
open heath of Epacris glacialis and
Danthonia nivicola occurred on shallow peats. Herbfields
of Caltha introloba and
Oreobolus pumilio occurred on stony pavements in two
different physiographic situations―on relatively steep slopes
(10−20°) at the head of wetlands, and on flat ground (slope <
2°), below the head of wetlands. The pavements on the steeper sites
appeared to be associated with periglacial features such as solifluction lobes
and terraces. Those on the flatter ground appeared to have been derived more
recently. Wetlands in the Mt Cope region consisted of closed heath, low open
heath and pavement herbfield in various proportions. Wetlands on Mt Fainter,
which are subject to heavy trampling by cattle, were in a degraded condition,
with a low cover of major hygrophyllous mosses and shrubs, and a high cover of
introduced species. Long-ungrazed wetlands in a 50-year exclosure at Rocky
Valley had high cover of closed heath, no pavements, numerous ponds and
virtually no entrenched drainage channels or exposed peat. The
Caltha herbfields are significant features nationally,
both floristically and geomorphologically. Alpine and subalpine wetlands have
been listed under the Victorian Flora and
Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and continued grazing by
cattle is not compatible with the conservation objectives for this alpine
vegetation type.
Consistent Long-Term Monthly Coastal Wetland Vegetation Monitoring Using a Virtual Satellite Constellation
