Significant resources are often invested in riparian management (RM) interventions along waterways, including stock exclusion fencing, revegetation and weed management. These interventions aim to improve vegetation condition, manage bank erosion, and contribute to long-term improvements in waterway condition. However, often there is poor assessment of whether RM interventions improve waterway health and/or represent value for money.
In 2019, as part of funding provided by Coliban Water to expand the North Central CMA’s “Caring for the Campaspe” program, which was designed to improve the ecological condition of the Campaspe River by improving riverside vegetation through willow removal, revegetation with natives and installation of stock exclusion fencing, with the view of also being considered as part of environmental offset arrangement for a downstream treated wastewater release, the AQUEST research group, was engaged to assess the environmental benefits of the program and understand whether other factors may be influencing instream health.
The benefits of RM to river health, and hence environmental offsetting, were assessed using a variety of indicators including water quality, aquatic ecology, nutrient availability, and ecotoxicology monitored at 8 sites along the Campaspe River, and in two tributaries. Monitoring was conducted yearly over 5-years, targeted in periods when the river was flowing.
The monitoring program demonstrated that using a variety of physical and ecological indicators provides a greater understanding of river health and the major factors influencing it. While the full benefits of RM will not be observed in 5 years, results show evidence of differences in river condition emerging between sites based on riparian condition e.g.: between RM sites, native vegetation sites and sites where no interventions have occurred.
This presentation will provide an overview of the monitoring program and the outcomes observed after 5 years and discuss the importance of a multifaceted approach to assessing RM intervention effectiveness.