ABSTRACT The natural flow regime of the Murray River in south-eastern Australia has been fundamentally altered through regulation and extraction, with fewer, shorter floods, changing seasonality of flows and reduced floodplain connectivity. Ecosystems which evolved over millenia show serious stress and decline under the regulated regime. Environmental water allocations being returned to Murray Valley ecosystems to halt the decline and improve river health are not sufficient to re-create missing floods, but aim to mimic key elements of the natural water regime. For floodplain vegetation communities, the missing element is seasonal water availability to maintain condition of mature trees and trigger germination of seedlings. Dominant perennial vegetation species river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), black box (E. largiflorens) and lignum (Muehlenbeckia florulenta) suffered significant stress and death during the severe Millenium drought (2000–2010), but drought-breaking floods in 2010–2012 replenished soil moisture reserves. A new generation of seedlings germinated, and many environmental watering projects now focus on enhancing survival of these seedlings. Previous studies suggested that timing of phenological stages can indicate key timing for beneficial delivery of environmental water. These findings are being tested at Lower Murray Valley sites, to identify optimum timing for watering to support recovery in floodplain vegetation communities.

中文翻译：

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墨累河谷红树胶、黑匣子和木质素的持续恢复：来自自然物候循环的线索指导环境浇水

摘要 澳大利亚东南部墨累河的自然流态通过调节和抽取发生了根本性的改变，洪水更少、更短、流量季节性变化和洪泛区连通性降低。几千年来进化的生态系统在监管制度下表现出严重的压力和衰退。重新分配给墨累谷生态系统以阻止下降和改善河流健康的环境水分配不足以重现缺失的洪水，而是旨在模仿自然水体的关键要素。对于洪泛区植被群落，缺少的要素是季节性可用水，以维持成熟树木的状况并触发幼苗发芽。多年生优势植被种类河红胶（Eucalyptus camaldulensis）、黑匣子（E. largiflorens) 和 lignum (Muehlenbeckia florulenta) 在千禧年严重干旱（2000-2010 年）期间遭受了严重的压力和死亡，但 2010-2012 年的干旱洪水补充了土壤水分储备。新一代幼苗发芽了，现在许多环境浇水项目都着眼于提高这些幼苗的成活率。以前的研究表明，物候阶段的时间可以指示有利地输送环境水的关键时间。这些发现正在下墨累谷站点进行测试，以确定浇水的最佳时间，以支持洪泛区植被群落的恢复。新一代的幼苗发芽了，许多环境浇水项目现在都专注于提高这些幼苗的成活率。以前的研究表明，物候阶段的时间可以指示有利地输送环境水的关键时间。这些发现正在下墨累谷站点进行测试，以确定浇水的最佳时间，以支持洪泛区植被群落的恢复。新一代的幼苗发芽了，许多环境浇水项目现在都专注于提高这些幼苗的成活率。以前的研究表明，物候阶段的时间可以指示有利地输送环境水的关键时间。这些发现正在下墨累谷站点进行测试，以确定浇水的最佳时间，以支持洪泛区植被群落的恢复。