Rethinking Condition: Measuring and Evaluating Wetland Vegetation Responses to Water Management

Environmental water management is increasingly used to restore riverine, wetland and floodplain ecosystems requires an understanding of what the flow regime or restoration objectives are, why these are being targeted how outcomes will be evaluated. This perspective paper focuses on non-woody vegetation, important component river-floodplain a outcome for many environmental programs, such as Basin wide watering strategy Murray-Darling in Australia. Effective vegetation using identifying suite measurable condition (the “what”), relate broader functions values “why”) developing clear cause-and-effect relationships between “how”). A critical this process characterise constitutes success, which reimagining current definitions better incorporate dynamic diverse values. We identify need structured framework both ecological data societal approach not only help inform development benchmarks, monitoring metrics, but also facilitate engagement by spectrum community with watering.