species in the assessment surrogate for broader species conservation in the (presence/absence unit—scored* as follows: absence of complete species richness data (Bonn, only)—required Rodrigues & Gaston 2002; Lamoreux et al. 2006). identification of – endemic to the assessment endemic species at unit = 3 the drainage division – endemic to the Surface and catchment scales Water Management (primarily made by Area = 2 expert opinion), and – endemic to the LEB species records. drainage division = 1. *Species is only scored once per assessment unit at the highest relevant level. Criterion 5: Naturalness: The ecological character of the aquatic ecosystem is not adversely affected by modern human activity. River Disturbance Index Metrics: The River Disturbance Index (RDI) uses data on human Data is available as disturbances at the catchment and stream scale to rate an ArcGIS database • Mean Catchment Disturbance streams in terms of naturalness (Stein, Stein & Nix from Geoscience Index 1998). The RDI consists of a number of sub-indices and Australia that • Mean Flow Regime has been applied across all of Australia. In terms of the contains the CDI and Disturbance Index. LEB HEVAE trial, two sub-indices (each the result of FRDI for all river several factors) were selected as indicative of segments in the ‘naturalness’ at the assessment unit scale: Australian 1:250 000 topographic layer. • Catchment Disturbance Index (CDI) includes The CDI and FRDI for consideration of settlements, infrastructure, land use each assessment unit and point sources of pollution were calculated as • Flow Regime Disturbance Index (FRDI) includes the mean value for consideration of impoundments, flow diversions and all river segments levee banks. within each unit. Although weeds and pest animals are considered significant threats to aquatic ecosystems in the LEB, there was inconsistent data across the drainage division to include a measure of these disturbances at this time. Similarly, land use and land tenure data was not in the appropriate format across all jurisdictions for use as a surrogate for disturbance.
species in the assessment unit—scored* as follows: – endemic to the assessment unit = 3 – endemic to the Surface Water Management Area = 2 – endemic to the LEB drainage division = 1. *Species is only scored once per assessment unit at the highest relevant level. surrogate for broader species conservation in the absence of complete species richness data (Bonn, Rodrigues & Gaston 2002; Lamoreux et al. 2006). (presence/absence only)—required identification of endemic species at the drainage division and catchment scales (primarily made by expert opinion), and species records. Criterion 5: Naturalness: The ecological character of the aquatic ecosystem is not adversely affected by modern human activity. River Disturbance Index Metrics: • Mean Catchment Disturbance Index • Mean Flow Regime Disturbance Index. The River Disturbance Index (RDI) uses data on human disturbances at the catchment and stream scale to rate streams in terms of naturalness (Stein, Stein & Nix 1998). The RDI consists of a number of sub-indices and has been applied across all of Australia. In terms of the LEB HEVAE trial, two sub-indices (each the result of several factors) were selected as indicative of ‘naturalness’ at the assessment unit scale: • Catchment Disturbance Index (CDI) includes consideration of settlements, infrastructure, land use and point sources of pollution • Flow Regime Disturbance Index (FRDI) includes consideration of impoundments, flow diversions and levee banks. Although weeds and pest animals are considered significant threats to aquatic ecosystems in the LEB, there was inconsistent data across the drainage division to include a measure of these disturbances at this time. Similarly, land use and land tenure data was not in the appropriate format across all jurisdictions for use as a surrogate for disturbance. Data is available as an ArcGIS database from Geoscience Australia that contains the CDI and FRDI for all river segments in the Australian 1:250 000 topographic layer. The CDI and FRDI for each assessment unit were calculated as the mean value for all river segments within each unit.
ae-toolkit-case-study-1-lake-eyre-basin.docx