Book Section
Groundwater dependent wetlands
Froend, R.H., Horwitz, P. and Sommer, B.
Record Number:
4203
Year:
2018
Pages:
346-355
Editor:
Finlayson, C.M., Milton, G.R., Prentice, R.C. and Davidson, N.C.
Publisher:
Springer
Place Published:
Dordrecht
Abstract:
The relative importance of groundwater in the development and maintenance of
hydrological and ecological character is recognized as an important feature that
distinguishes so-called “groundwater-dependent” wetlands. A categorisation is
presented here according to three types of groundwater dependent ecosystems
(1: subterranean or cave; 2: surface expressions of groundwater discharge; and 3:
ecosystems dependent on subsurface presence of groundwater). Beyond these, we
recognise eight degrees of dependence based on ecology-hydrology linkages that
make explicit the hydrology, biology, soil/sediment/rock relationships arranged in
increasing requirement for groundwater permanence (from intermittent to seasonal
to permanent, and (soil) moisture to saturation). The classification is applied to
situations where groundwater wetlands have become subject to changing hydrological
conditions.
Times Cited:
0