Integrity of inland aquatic ecosystems: wetland ecosystem condition
Indicator Status: For Advice
Department of the Environment and Heritage
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About this document
Why conserve wetlands?
Wetlands are among the world's most productive environments. They are sources of biological diversity, providing the water and primary productivity on which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival.
Wetlands support high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species. They are also an important source of plant material: rice, for example, is a common wetland plant and is the staple diet of more than half of humanity.
Wetlands provide economic benefits through water supply (and purification); flood mitigation; nutrient retention (in floodplains); fisheries; agriculture; forestry; wildlife resources; transport; recreation and tourism opportunities.
These functions can only be maintained if the ecological processes of the wetland are allowed to continue to function (Ramsar Bureau 2000).
Indicators of wetland condition
The use of indicators to measure wetland condition is relatively new. To date, there has been no national standard for monitoring the condition of wetland ecosystems. The indicators outlined here are based on work undertaken on wetland monitoring in Western Australia. Victoria is in the process of testing techniques for wetland monitoring, which will be used to refine these indicators over time.
Based on work to date, no single index of wetland condition exists. Rather an assessment of wetland condition can be developed by reporting on a suite of measures which include biological, physical and chemical measures. Biological indicators include vegetation extent, macroinvertebrate and phytoplankton sampling. Physical and chemical indicators include conductivity, pH, turbidity, transparency, colour, dissolved oxygen, nutrients and chlorophyll a.
It should be noted that a number of the techniques for monitoring wetlands have similarities to other indicators (such as those for water quality and river condition). In some cases, it may be possible to use the same techniques for all monitoring and analysis. In other cases, methodology and analysis may vary, particularly when comparing flowing to standing waters. For example, macroinvertebrate species used to analyse river condition may vary from those used for analysing wetland condition. Similarly, species used may vary from location to location across Australia.
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