Ecohydrological feedback as a land restoration tool in the semi-arid Brigalow Belt, QLD, Australia

In this study of native plant communities in the Brigalow Belt – a semi-arid bioregion of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia – an ecohydrological model was designed to investigate the complex feedback relationships existing between plant community traits and soil water dynamics among post-disturbance (i.e. mining and agricultural) landscapes. Two distinct locations (having similar composition and climatic environment, yet different soil water dynamics) were selected to compare the interaction and sensitivity of these traits towards water evaporation from soil or from plant transpiration. The model is constrained by soil physical attributes and climate data monitored at the Brigalow Catchment Study, and plant community parameters were derived using Latin hypercube sampling and pattern oriented modelling.