Regional-scale models for relating land cover to basin surface-water quality using remotely sensed data in a GIS.
Plant-based management systems implementing deep-rooted, perennial vegetation have been identified as important in mitigating the spread of secondary dryland salinity due to its capacity to influence water table depth. The Glenelg Hopkins catchment is a highly modified watershed in the southwest region of Victoria, where dryland salinity management has been identified as a priority. Empirical relationships between the proportion of native vegetation and in-stream salinity were examined in the Glenelg Hopkins catchment using a linear regression approach. Whilst investigations of these relationships are not unique, this is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a link between land use and in-stream salinity in the study area. The results indicate that higher percentage land cover with native vegetation was negatively correlated with elevated in-stream salinity. This inverse correlation was consistent across the 3 years examined (1980, 1995, and 2002). Recognising the potential for erroneously inferring causal relationships, the methodology outlined here was both a time and cost-effective tool to inform management strategies at a regional scale, particularly in areas where processes may be operating at scales not easily addressed with on-site studies.
Versace
V L
VL
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, P.O. Box 423, Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia. vlv@deakin.edu.au
Ierodiaconou
D
D
Stagnitti
F
F
Hamilton
A J
AJ
Walter
M T
MT
Mitchell
B
B
Boland
A-M
AM
D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D010944:Plants; D045483:Rivers; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013997:Time Factors; D014739:Victoria; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis*
D012965:Sodium Chloride