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Regional-scale models for relating land cover to basin surface-water quality using remotely sensed data in a GIS

journal contribution
posted on 2008-07-01, 00:00 authored by Vincent VersaceVincent Versace, Daniel IerodiaconouDaniel Ierodiaconou, Francesco Stagnitti, A Hamilton, M Walter, Bradley Mitchell, A Boland
Plant-based management systems implementing deep-rooted, perennial vegetation have been identified as important in mitigating the spread of secondary dryland salinity due to its capacity to influence water table depth. The Glenelg Hopkins catchment is a highly modified watershed in the southwest region of Victoria, where dryland salinity management has been identified as a priority. Empirical relationships between the proportion of native vegetation and in-stream salinity were examined in the Glenelg Hopkins catchment using a linear regression approach. Whilst investigations of these relationships are not unique, this is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a link between land use and in-stream salinity in the study area. The results indicate that higher percentage land cover with native vegetation was negatively correlated with elevated in-stream salinity. This inverse correlation was consistent across the 3 years examined (1980, 1995, and 2002). Recognising the potential for erroneously inferring causal relationships, the methodology outlined here was both a time and cost-effective tool to inform management strategies at a regional scale, particularly in areas where processes may be operating at scales not easily addressed with on-site studies.

History

Journal

Environmental monitoring and assessment

Volume

142

Issue

1-3

Pagination

171 - 184

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

Location

Amsterdam, Netherlands

ISSN

0167-6369

eISSN

1573-2959

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2007, Springer Science + Business Media B.V.