Discussion Paper - Part A - Victorian Environmental Assessment ...

Table 5.4 Extent of wetlands statewide and in the River Red Gum Forests study area, by wetland type.WetlandcategoryArea inVictoria(ha)Wetlands on public land in study areaArea (ha)As a percent ofarea in VictoriaPercent of area on public landin the study area outside RamsarSites and Nationally ImportantWetlandsFreshwater meadow118,17454,9184627Shallow freshwatermarsh54,49615,2602823Deep freshwatermarsh54,66497801835Permanent openfreshwater180,39641,6262326Semi-permanentsaline64,2643312564Permanent saline61,3272222420Sewage pond3793171596Salt works 1829 not present ——Total 538,943Source: DSE (2006b)Significant plant species of the floodplainsTree species diversity is low in riparian and floodplainforests compared with most forest types (Roberts &Marston 2000). Although there are more than 500eucalypt species in Australia, only four occur widely inthe study area: river red gum, black box, grey box andyellow box (Figure 5.1). River red gums (Figure 5.8) arethe most widespread eucalypt in Australia (but do notoccur naturally in Tasmania). They can grow toapproximately 45 m, with height generally increasing asflood frequency and duration increases (Roberts &Marston 2000).River red gums have a typically spreading form—subjectto competition for light, water and nutrients. Large areasof river red gums on the fertile soils of the floodplainshave been cleared for agriculture and the largestremaining river red gum forests are the Barmah-Millewaand Gunbower-Perricoota forests. The remaining riverred gum forests and river red gum dominated EVCscover approximately 130,900 ha (Appendix 6).River red gum wood is hard and resistant to decay andtermites, making it popular for uses, such as canoes,boomerangs, shields, waddies, sleepers, fencing timbers,house stumps, and wharf and bridge timbers (seechapters 6 and 14). River red gums are also good nectarproducers and are important for the bee-keepingindustry (see chapter 13).Table 5.5 Summary of stream condition in the River Red Gum Forests study area.ConditionCountLength (km)ExcellentGoodModeratePoorVery poorUnknown013718327801871,3391,70956936Lakes 9 48Source: DSE (2006b).Note: Apart from the stretch between Piangil and the South Australian border, the Murray River is generally excluded from thistable, being New South Wales waters.66 River Red Gum Forests Investigation 2006