Matt Crawford from Goulburn Broken CMA on the drying mud flats of Reedy Swamp.
For many of us, it’s just a swamp.
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You know, rushes and gum trees with a smattering of small plants, a few snakes and curious birds.
But this place, once treated as a receptacle for storm water run-off and drainage, is home to more than 150 species of plants.
Reedy Swamp has also been a host to Siberian sandpipers, brolgas and a resident sea eagle, among 120 bird species, seven fish species (three exotic), seven frog species, 30 macro-invertebrate species, seven reptile species and eight species of mammals, identified in historical reports.
The swamp has an environmental water entitlement, which is used judiciously to replicate natural drying and wetting cycles.
Scientist Lyndsey Vivian examines a native Persicaria lapathifolia, also known as pale knot weed, growing in the drying bed of Reedy Swamp.
The swamp, located north of Shepparton on the Goulburn River floodplain, has a history of management actions that have altered its natural flooding regime.
The site has experienced protracted flood regimes causing substantial tree loss. Most of the dead trees were the victims, not of drought, but too much water.
Recently staff from the Arthur Rylah Institute and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority conducted vegetation surveys on the drying bed to identify what species of plants were growing.
Scientist Lyndsey Vivian and senior NRM officer Matt Crawford spent quite a bit of time on their knees identifying the botany in 10-metre square quadrants, across the drying mud flats.
A tiny plant, Glinus lotoides or hairy carpet weed, growing in the mud flats of Reedy Swamp.
A previous survey, about 10 years ago, identified more than 100 species.
The findings will help inform decisions about when and how to deliver environmental water to the site.
Ms Vivian said a drying cycle is important for a wetland as it allows different species to emerge from seed banks in the soil.
When the water level recedes, the plants have the opportunity to grow and produce more seeds for the next cycle.
She said the description ‘swamp’ doesn’t do the wetland justice and wishes there was another name.
The bed of Reedy Swamp has dried out in the autumn sun.
The water levels vary at Reedy Swamp.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Reedy Swamp has walking trails and interpretive signs.
A map of northern Shepparton, showing Reedy Swamp. Source: Google maps.
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