Land Management Practices
Some practices, which have historically occurred in the Tootgarook Swamp, threaten swamp health.
These include:
These activities can be considered a form of vegetation clearance and water degradation techniques, and require approval through the Catchment Land Management Act of 1994, Water Act of 1989, and Mornington Peninsula Shire Planning Scheme. Any activity that clears or damages indigenous vegetation or soil in a swamp may be illegal and should be avoided.
The continuing degradation and loss of some types of wetlands cause the release of large amounts of stored carbon and thus exacerbates climate change.
A swamp is a non-reproducible capital good. Because landscape pattern and ecological process are closely linked land, use change at one scale or another is perhaps the single greatest factor effecting ecological resources.
Pollution is closely linked with land use and can take many forms and affects earth, air and water.
A wetland that is predominantly closer to more built up populated areas has a high chance of having been polluted by human activities and they can often carry toxic loads of heavy metals, pesticides, nutrients, and contaminants from former and ongoing activities that involved chemical factories, refineries, refuse disposal sites and other industrial uses.
Changed land use can lead to the eutrophication of wetlands due to increased nutrients in the form of sedimentation, fertiliser run-off and organic wastes entering wetlands. These nutrients cause rapid increases in phytoplankton and aquatic plant growth. The high levels of organic matter may cause massive deoxygenation of the wetland resulting in a reduction of water quality and a severe decline of aquatic life.[1]
Though most industries, including agriculture and recreational, have and are continuing to improve on their best management practices to reduce the effects of non-point source pollution on wetlands and the surrounding environment they still have a long way to go.
It is variously acknowledged that artificial illumination pollution and light trespass can undesirably affect animals as well as plants, for example, migratory birds navigate erroneously, and the activities of nocturnal land mammals can be disturbed. Roads around and adjacent to the swamp should be fitted with fully shielded fixtures, to direct where the light is actually needed. The result of inefficient lighting is unnecessary sky glow, glare and light trespass, mostly it is due to a choice of cheap, inefficient options and a lack of awareness of better lighting options.[2]
Experiments and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that both temporary and permanent changes to the illumination of an area may affect frog reproduction, foraging, predator avoidance, and social interactions.[3]
Higher species of plants rely greatly on environmental signals to guide their growth. Among the more significant environmental signals are those that come from their light environment. Among the many processes affected by light are seed germination, stem elongation, leaf expansion, and conversion from a vegetative state to a flowering state, flower development, fruit development, and senescence.
The protection and re-establishment of riparian vegetation to act as buffers is a vital step in limiting the impacts of many pollution types.
[1] Queensland Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_16491.htm#Pollution_of
[2] Light Pollution - And the Solution fraserf.id.au/astronomy/martin-lewicki/lpgallry.htm
[3] Bryant W. Buchanan Observed and potential effects of artificial light on the behavior, ecology, and evolution of nocturnal frogs http://www.urbanwildlands.org/abstracts.html
These include:
- Hydrological intervention reducing the water-table.
- Grazing a previously un-grazed part of a swamp; goes from stable to disturbed soil therefore increasing oxidation and weed invasion.
- Slashing and spraying indigenous vegetation within the swamp.
- Inappropriate fire regimes; reducing dense vegetation cover leading to higher soil temperature and therefore increasing oxidation.
- Oxidation of Peat soils; Causing Increased CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases.
- Increased fire risk; from dried out Peat soil due to oxidation.
- Burning.
- Sowing of inappropriate pasture grasses.
- Unnecessary vehicle usage.
- Inappropriate planning measures. (E.g. zoning, road reserves, freeways, rubbish tips etc.).
- Industrial waste.
- Dumping of refuse and other unwanted materials.
- Artificial illumination pollution.
These activities can be considered a form of vegetation clearance and water degradation techniques, and require approval through the Catchment Land Management Act of 1994, Water Act of 1989, and Mornington Peninsula Shire Planning Scheme. Any activity that clears or damages indigenous vegetation or soil in a swamp may be illegal and should be avoided.
The continuing degradation and loss of some types of wetlands cause the release of large amounts of stored carbon and thus exacerbates climate change.
A swamp is a non-reproducible capital good. Because landscape pattern and ecological process are closely linked land, use change at one scale or another is perhaps the single greatest factor effecting ecological resources.
Pollution is closely linked with land use and can take many forms and affects earth, air and water.
A wetland that is predominantly closer to more built up populated areas has a high chance of having been polluted by human activities and they can often carry toxic loads of heavy metals, pesticides, nutrients, and contaminants from former and ongoing activities that involved chemical factories, refineries, refuse disposal sites and other industrial uses.
Changed land use can lead to the eutrophication of wetlands due to increased nutrients in the form of sedimentation, fertiliser run-off and organic wastes entering wetlands. These nutrients cause rapid increases in phytoplankton and aquatic plant growth. The high levels of organic matter may cause massive deoxygenation of the wetland resulting in a reduction of water quality and a severe decline of aquatic life.[1]
Though most industries, including agriculture and recreational, have and are continuing to improve on their best management practices to reduce the effects of non-point source pollution on wetlands and the surrounding environment they still have a long way to go.
It is variously acknowledged that artificial illumination pollution and light trespass can undesirably affect animals as well as plants, for example, migratory birds navigate erroneously, and the activities of nocturnal land mammals can be disturbed. Roads around and adjacent to the swamp should be fitted with fully shielded fixtures, to direct where the light is actually needed. The result of inefficient lighting is unnecessary sky glow, glare and light trespass, mostly it is due to a choice of cheap, inefficient options and a lack of awareness of better lighting options.[2]
Experiments and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that both temporary and permanent changes to the illumination of an area may affect frog reproduction, foraging, predator avoidance, and social interactions.[3]
Higher species of plants rely greatly on environmental signals to guide their growth. Among the more significant environmental signals are those that come from their light environment. Among the many processes affected by light are seed germination, stem elongation, leaf expansion, and conversion from a vegetative state to a flowering state, flower development, fruit development, and senescence.
The protection and re-establishment of riparian vegetation to act as buffers is a vital step in limiting the impacts of many pollution types.
[1] Queensland Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_16491.htm#Pollution_of
[2] Light Pollution - And the Solution fraserf.id.au/astronomy/martin-lewicki/lpgallry.htm
[3] Bryant W. Buchanan Observed and potential effects of artificial light on the behavior, ecology, and evolution of nocturnal frogs http://www.urbanwildlands.org/abstracts.html
