This vegetation is dominated by non-woody or herbaceous species such as grasses, sedges, ferns or a mixture. It may be associated with an overstorey of scattered and isolated trees.
Commonly adjoins or merges with a wide range of other wetland types.
It is associated with locally moist conditions created by high rainfall, near-surface groundwater and seepage or run-on from the surrounding catchments.Typically found in depressions, lowland floodplains or headwater valleys where flat slopes inhibit rapid run off.
This vegetation community it considered a wetland community.
Regional Ecosystems
Regional Ecosystems are a Queensland vegetation community classification system and mapping tool developed by the Queensland Government. It incorporates its regional location, the sites underlying geology, landform and soil and the different vegetation that makes up the ecosystem type. This is a more detailed classification of vegetation communities then the broad vegetation communities outlined in this page.
Regional ecosystems can help you identify suitable species for your revegetation project, help with the planning of fire management, weed management etc., identify the types of fauna habitat and fauna species that may be present on the property and identify which vegetation is regrowth or remnant.
Learn more about Regional Ecosystems – here.
Download your properties Regional Ecosystem map and classification – here.
Regional Ecosystem classification examples for this vegetation community in the Noosa Shire (click to download an RE description or factsheet):
Soil and Geology:
The soil of coastal grass-sedge wetlands typically is heavy, dark clay that was originally deposited by streams or the ocean.
Relationship with fire:
This vegetation community is naturally fire tolerant when inundated, providing natural firebreaks and a refuge for animals during bushfires. In drought conditions or in wetlands with altered drainage, which has resulted in drier conditions and altered species composition, can increase the risk of more frequent and severe fires. Severe fires can lead to the exposure of acid sulfate soils.
More research is required to better understand the appropriate fire regimes (frequency, intensity, and season of occurrence – if any) is required to protect the ecological values of this community. Fire sensitivity does vary within this vegetation community and degradation of habitat values has been reported post fire.
Fire has been used in Northern Queensland areas to manage exotic pasture grasses like Para grass (Brachiaria mutica) and Hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis).
Threats:
Values:
Management Considerations:
Land managers are aiming to maintain or restore a native species composition indicative to a grass, sedge, herb swamp and manage pressures such as weeds, fire, livestock grazing and nutrient runoff to encourage and protect ecosystem values.
Where barriers to local water run-off or hydrology is evident, landholders are advised to gain advice on appropriate remediation options for the site if viable.
It is often that this wetland may be part of a broader wetland complex e.g. connecting to paperbark woodlands, mangroves and saltmarsh. This needs to be considered when identifying management actions for this vegetation community.
Restoration:
Much of our local landscape has experienced significant changes over time, mainly driven by activities such as land clearing for development and agriculture, as well as extraction industries like mining along the Mary River. The growing pressures from urbanisation and climate change have further exacerbated the impact on our local environment.
As land managers, we can play a vital role in helping preserve the health of the natural environment and restore the ecological balance in areas impacted by past disturbances.
What is Ecological Restoration? Here at Noosa Landcare, we like to follow the definition of Ecological Restoration applied by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER):
“Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.”
There are three main ecological restoration approaches as identified in the National Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in Australia. These three approaches are usually used alone or combined if appropriate for the site. All will require ongoing adaptive management until recovery is reached.
Where damage is relatively low, pre-existing vegetation should be able to recover with threat removed or stopped.
This approach is suitable for bushland areas that:
Weed-free areas of native vegetation | Native species are naturally regenerating i.e. evidence of a diversity of native seedlings and life stages of plants and animals | Mix of diverse native species indicative to the vegetation community(s) present|
Common threat examples:
Storm disturbance – Flood, Rain and Wind damage | Vegetation clearing | Inappropriate fire regimes and wildfires | Inappropriate grazing regimes | Lack of connectivity |
Management action examples:
Fence bushland area to exclude grazing or adjust grazing regime more effectively to minimise risk of over grazing or damage to native vegetation | Develop and implement a fire management plan | Establish connectivity between bushland areas where viable using the reconstruction approach |
Recovery at sites of intermediate (or even high) degradation. Need both the removal of causes of degradation and further active interventions required to trigger natural regeneration and recovery key ecological features.
This approach is suitable for bushland areas that:
Regrowth or recovering vegetation communities | native plant seed is still available on site or will be able to reach the site from nearby bushland areas, by birds or other animals, wind or water | natural regeneration is being inhibited by external factors, such as weed invasion, soil compaction, cattle grazing, mechanical slashing, etc. | Some key ecological and habitat features missing e.g. tree hollows, shrub layer |
Common threat examples:
Inappropriate fire regimes and wildfires | Inappropriate grazing regimes | Weeds and feral animals | Erosion | Slashing and broadscale chemical spraying|
Management action examples:
Integrated Weed management | Applying disturbances such as fire to break seed dormancy | installing habitat features such as hollow logs, rocks, woody debris piles and perch tree | reshaping and stabilisation of watercourses | Remediating soil chemistry and/or soil structure | Identify emerging trees and shrubs and use slashing and brushcutting practices to aid the reestablishment of the native vegetation. Avoid blanket slashing of areas. | Revegetation may be suitable to reestablish species for genetic diversity purposes or that cannot return to site without direct intervention e.g. rare and threatened species.
Where resilience is depleted, and abiotic or biotic elements need to be reestablished before recovery can commence.
This approach is suitable for bushland areas that:
Areas that have experienced significant, long-standing disturbance that the pre-existing native plant community cannot recover by natural means | Significant weed coverage |
Common threat examples:
Inappropriate fire regimes and wildfires | Inappropriate grazing regimes | Weeds and feral animals | Erosion | Slashing | Clearing | Lack of connectivity |
Management action examples:
Revegetation| Integrated Weed management | reshaping and stabilisation of watercourses | Remediating soil chemistry and/or soil structure |
A note on weeds for this vegetation community:
Common weeds that threaten coastal and subcoastal floodplain grass, sedge, herb swamps and lakes include water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), salvinia (Salvinia molesta), Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Kidney leaf (Heteranthera reniformis), Taro (Colocasia esculenta), parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus), and Singapore daisy (Sphagneticola trilobata),
The creation of ponded pastures and introduction of pasture grasses such as para grass (Brachiaria mutica) and hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis), significantly alters native species composition of this wetland as these pasture grasses can completely dominate and choke grass, sedge, herb swamps and lakes.
With wetlands being sensitive habitats, we recommend seeking advice on weed management options, specifically with herbicide use.
It is important to establish a weed management plan for your bushland area to take a strategic approach and be more effective with your resources, including your time. Please visit our weed management page for more information on weed management planning and weed control methods.
A note on grazing for this vegetation community:
Grazing of livestock, particularly cattle, in these vegetation communities has been practised since the 1800s. Excessively high grazing pressure and the introduction of pasture grasses can permanently alter the ecological character of grass, sedge, herb swamps and lakes and impact the quality of water and soil in these environments.
A key strategy for management of grazing in wetlands is to have fencing that enables wetlands to be excluded from grazing at strategic times or permanently. Exclusion is particularly important when these wetland edges are soft and liable to deep pugging and when wetland plants have not yet completed the seeding stage. It is more difficult to conserve wetlands on properties that lack upland grazing areas and rely totally on lowland grazing. Operating across a mix of upland and lowland country naturally facilitates seasonal “spelling” of wetlands from grazing.
Wetland buffers:
A useful tool of protecting wetland biodiversity and ecological values is by maintaining a buffer zone of intact vegetation. Buffer distances range from 50-200 meters.
The buffer is used to reduce the impact from adjacent land uses. Its role is to:
There are specific guidelines for wetland buffer zones under local and state government legislation where development is being undertaken adjacent to the wetland area.
