Getting to Know Your Wetland
To understand your wetland better you need to get out and do a bit of work. As a starting point it is important to gather some information to help build a picture of your wetland. Ask yourself some questions;
Does your wetland have water in it permanently or on a seasonal basis?
There are many different types of wetlands. Some of the most common and most valuable in regards to habitat are the seasonal wetlands that go through a wet and dry period depending on what the seasons provide. It is important to keep records during different times of the year or at least when the wetland is at different stages to take into account their dynamic systems.
Does the water stay around?
The level and amount of time that water is in the wetland determines the types of plant and animal communities that use the wetland.
Where does the water come from?
What fills your wetland? Rainfall, both directly through the surrounding catchment or indirectly via drainage lines and creeks, is a major influence on wetland water levels. Groundwater coming to the surface can also feed into wetlands. Water being fed into wetlands can be either fresh or salty.
Do you have native plants in and around your wetland?
Native plants supply food and shelter for birds and animals. They add oxygen to the water and help keep the water clear. The amount of native plants left around the wetland can indicate the health of the wetland.
Do birds visit your wetland? How long do they stay? Can you hear frogs? Are there fish?
Do you own all or part of the wetland?
When the land was orginallly divided up for sale surveyors liked to draw in straight lines to make boundary delineation easier. In some places wetlands became divided between properties. When looking to manage a wetland in this situation it is a good idea to try and get your neighbours involved in managing the wetland more sustainably.
What do you use your wetland for?
You need to consider future uses as well as what has happened in the past and what is happening now. A healthy wetland is a valuable asset to a property providing many environmental services. For example a healthy wetland will produce fewer mosquitos, encourages insect-eating birds to your property, and adds aesthetic value to the land.
Some uses are detrimental to the wetland and may need to be look at closely to achieve a more sustainable management system on the property. Think about and write down what you want your wetland to be like.
One of the best tools you can use to help plan actions around your wetland is to make a map of its extent on your property. This helps identify whether it is part of a larger wetland system or an isolated oasis.
A map can be as simple as a hand drawing of your property with the wetland outline marked on a long with internal tracks, fencing, large trees, watering points, gates, buildings, drainage/creek lines and particular features such as windmills or if possible an aerial photograph of your property will often highlight the boundaries of the wetland.
These photographs can provide a lot of information regarding how your wetland is connected to other features in the landscape and the scale is more representative than would be on a handdrawn map.
Caring for Your Wetland
Wetland Buffer
Maintaining a vegetated buffer zone around your wetland helps to keep your wetland healthy. It reduces the sediment, nutrients and pollutants entering the wetland from run-off from the surrounding land.
Managing a water regime for your wetland
Most wetlands are naturally ephemeral - that is they dry out from time to time. There is a belief that wetlands must permanaently have water in them. However by digging out a wetland and making it a deeper and more permanent waterbody impacts severely on the types of plants and animals that use the wetland. For example, look at the diversity of native plants and animals around a natural wetland as opposed to a dam.
Many wetlands have drains in them which means that the level of water and the amount of time that is in the wetland is reduced or restricted all together. To restore a natural water cycle to your wetland drains can be blocked by some soil or by a couple of boards to the level of the wetland floor. However it is vital to check out, through appropriate authorities, the impact this may have on neighbouring properties before putting this in action.
Fencing
Fencing around your wetland is a way of managing, or preventing, grazing of the site. As mentioned above grazing can have severe impacts on wetlands. If a wetland completely drys out then grazing could be used as a tool to manage high threat weeds such as Phalaris, which is not killed by short term wetting of the wetland. The soil must be hard and dry. Grazing of wetlands must be strategic, timely and monitored closely so as not to cause damage to the wetland.
Weeds
Weed control will vary depending on the type of weeds being controlled. Woody weeds such as willows can be cut and painted, smaller infestations of high threat weeds can be chipped out, grazing can also be used in some circumstances. It is important not to introduce new weeds to your wetland and keep a close eye out for any new unknown plants that pop up. For information on weed management check out the Department of Primary Industries website.
Pest animal control
Foxes, cats, rabbits, carp and mosquito fish are the most common feral animals posing a threat to wetlands. Pest animals destroy native plants and compete with and/or eat our native species.
- An integrated approach is always the best method for pest animals. See your Department of Primary Industries website for further information.
- To protect breeding birds any fox control program some begin sometime before chicks hatch.
- The natural drying cycle of a wetland controls carp and mosquito fish.
Keeping check.
Being active in looking after your wetlands can be as simple as keeping an eye on the changes that take place throughout the seasons. This will provide you with a background on the dynamic nature of wetlands.
- Keep a list of the type and number of birds that visit your wetland.
- Take photographs of the wetlands at different times of the year to record its fluctuations.
- Record frog calls in the evening and learn how to identify different species (frog website)
- Get a Waterwatch kit to test the water quality (Waterwatch website)