The North-east Australian Coastal Catchments (NACC) are host to nationally significant wetland complexes, many of which, are ecologically connected to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area. However, these wetlands are subject to ongoing and increasing pressure from human activities such as the intensification of land use. Current wetland condition is monitored across the NACC, being assessed against a pre-development static baseline, which includes the use of Regional Ecosystem mapping of remnant and pre-clearing vegetation to provide a broadscale present-day biotic reference. Two sediment cores from wetlands within the Fitzroy Basin were analysed to establish a history of wetland variability and to identify the potential influence of climate and land-use changes over the past ~1000 years. Our results have provided long-term environmental reconstructions, showing wetland histories influenced by natural climate variability (El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Little Ice Age), and environmental changes associated with European land-use intensification. This study is the first of its kind for wetlands located within the Fitzroy Basin.

澳大利亚东北部沿海集水区 (NACC) 拥有具有全国意义的湿地综合体，其中许多在生态上与大堡礁世界遗产区相连。然而，这些湿地受到人类活动（例如土地利用集约化）的持续和越来越大的压力。整个 NACC 监测当前的湿地状况，根据开发前的静态基线进行评估，其中包括使用区域生态系统绘制残留和清理前的植被，以提供广泛的现代生物参考。分析了来自 Fitzroy 盆地内湿地的两个沉积物核心，以建立湿地变异的历史，并确定过去约 1000 年气候和土地利用变化的潜在影响。我们的结果提供了长期的环境重建，显示了受自然气候变化（厄尔尼诺-南方涛动、小冰河时代）影响的湿地历史，以及与欧洲土地利用集约化相关的环境变化。这项研究是针对位于 Fitzroy 盆地内的湿地的首次此类研究。