Wetlands Inventory - 2006Home | Water | Water Quality & Ecology | Wetlands Inventory | 2006 What does the Data tell us for 2000/2006Wetlands are an integral part of our environment having many important functions including production of energy, nutrient trapping and recycling, controlling flooding and erosion, flushing and trapping waste water and sediment, providing shelter and food for a large variety of fauna and use for recreation, education and scientific study. Wetlands often act as a filter which contributes to a healthy waterway environment. Wetlands in the Shoalhaven can be divided into 3 main groups:
The City includes a rich diversity of wetland environments. There are 125 wetlands protected as part of SEPP 14. In addition there are another 74 identified wetlands and a possible 57 unconfirmed wetlands that have been identified as part of a wetland inventory for Shoalhaven. Fifteen of the wetlands that are found in Shoalhaven have been listed on the Directory of Nationally Important Wetlands. These are Budderoo National Park and Barren Grounds Nature Reserve Heath Swamps (part), Coomonderry Swamp, Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven/Crookhaven Estuary, St Georges Basin, Lake Wollumboola, Durras Lake, Jervis Bay Sea Cliffs, Swan Lagoon, Tabourie Lake, Cormorant Beach, Lagoon Head, Lake Termeil Wetland Complex, Meroo Lake Wetland Complex and Beecroft Peninsula. The Shoalhaven Catchment Management Committee in conjunction with Shoalhaven City Council applied for and obtained funding for a wetland inventory project within the Shoalhaven Catchment area from the Natural Heritage Trust. It was noted that there was a need to document the information currently available on the wetlands within the Shoalhaven City Council area. The inventory has found the following: A total of 199 Coastal wetlands were recorded within the Shoalhaven area, 125 SEPP 14 wetland areas and 74 are new “confirmed” wetland areas. A further 57 areas were identified as potential wetland areas but these have not been confirmed. The largest catchment, Shoalhaven River supports the highest number of SEPP 14 wetlands (25), with another five confirmed wetlands and 23 potential wetland areas. The Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin catchments also support a high number of SEPP 14 wetlands with 21 and 18 respectively as detailed in Table 59. Table 59 provides the estimated area in hectares of each wetland in 1981 and 1997. The difference in area between years has been calculated as both an absolute change in hectares and a percentage change. Jervis Bay has the highest number of new wetland areas with 22 new confirmed wetlands identified by this study Table 6. A number of catchments contained no identified wetland areas including Washerwoman’s Creek, Mollymook, Bawley Beach, Racecourse Beach, Shelley Beach, Merry Beach, National Park and Clyde River. In addition to the Coastal Wetlands, there are 928 inland wetlands that have been identified in previous studies. While these were not the focus of the report it is worth noting their existence and distribution, with most of them (646) occurring in the Shoalhaven River catchment, 111 in the Clyde River catchment and the remainder split over Jervis Bay (62), St Georges Basin (88) and Conjola Lake (21). A database has been created to store all information gathered on the wetlands. Information for the database was gathered via literature review and field assessment. Headings of the database are listed below:
The database and study are not comprehensive. There are still a large number of wetlands that are lacking information. It is envisaged that the wetland inventory be updated as new information becomes available. The inventory forms a base of information which can be used as important background information. There is a need to further assess the wetlands and prioritise them. Identifying the appropriate management response for each wetland to improve the state and relieve the pressure on the wetland would also be a useful extension of the current inventory. A macroinvertebrate study was also undertaken as part of the wetland inventory project. The results of the macroinvertebrate study can be viewed in Council’s State of Environment Report 1999/2000. The aim of the study was to provide an indication of species richness and diversity, together with wetland health, and enable comparisons between wetlands to be undertaken, thus filling in some of the gaps in the current information for Lower Shoalhaven Wetlands. Fauna surveys in Lower Shoalhaven wetlands revealed that the diversity of animals in each wetland varied markedly (Table 60) from no detected mammal or frog species (wetlands 284) to 16 species of mammals and 4 species of frogs (wetland 264). The reasons for the differences in diversity were related to the size of the wetland and the degree of habitat disturbance. In general, small wetlands provided only one or two habitat types whereas the larger wetlands provided a greater variety of habitats (as well as bigger areas of each). Some wetlands were prone to particular types of disturbances that reduced the habitat value of these wetlands. Further details of these surveys can be found Council’s State of Environment Report 1999/2000. Home | Water | Water Quality & Ecology | Wetlands Inventory | 2006
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