Robust and sensitive indicators of groundwater health and biodiversity
XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO GROUNDWATER, ITS MANAGEMENT AND GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEMS 1 1.1 BACKGROUND 2 1.2 MANAGING GROUNDWATER HEALTH 3 1.2.1 FEDERAL AND NSW STATE INITIATIVES 4 1.2.2 COTTON INDUSTRY AND GROUNDWATER IN AUSTRALIA 4 1.2.3 IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION AND PLANS 6 1.3 GROUNDWATER DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEMS 6 1.3.1 TYPES OF GROUNDWATER DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEMS 6 1.3.2 GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEMS 8 1.4 AIM, OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES 9 1.5 THESIS STRUCTURE 10 CHAPTER 2: A TIERED FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEM HEALTH 13 PREAMBLE 14 2.1 ABSTRACT 15 2.2 INTRODUCTION 16 2.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 17 2.3.1. FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT 17 2.3.2 FRAMEWORK TESTING: CASE STUDY 17 2.4 RESULTS 18 2.4.1. DEFINITION AND ATTRIBUTES OF HEALTH GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEMS 19 2.4.2. DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR GROUNDWATER ECOSYSTEM HEALTH 31 2.5 DISCUSSION 45 2.6 CONCLUSION 45 CHAPTER 3: HABITAT, WATER QUALITY, CLIMATE OR SITE? IDENTIFYING ENVIRONMENTAL CORRELATES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GROUNDWATER BIOTA 47 PREAMBLE 48 3.1 ABSTRACT 49 3.2 INTRODUCTION 50 3.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 51 3.3.1. STUDY REGION 51 3.3.2 COLLECTION METHODS 52