2.3.3.2 Gaps

Wetlands in large areas of the Galilee PAE are not yet adequately mapped. However, a significant amount of work targeting gaps in mapping has been undertaken as part of the Lake Eyre Basin Springs Assessment project. Specifically, this task is being done for groundwater (DSITI, 2015) with a related project focusing on springs (Fensham et al., 2016).

The separation between groundwater-dependent and surface water-dependent wetlands may not always be accurate. In many areas there is little knowledge of groundwatersurface water interactions. There is also a significant data gap in the understanding of water thresholds for ecosystems associated with springs and other water assets. In part, this results from a lack of bores to provide meaningful groundwater level data time series. Some examples of these data gaps appear in the discussion of the functioning of springs in the Doongmabulla Springs complex in the Galilee subregion, particularly in identifying the source aquifer (Fensham et al., 2016).

Subsurface GDEs have not been adequately surveyed within the PAE and are not adequately represented in this landscape classification. This is known to be a widespread issue (e.g. Tomlinson and Boulton, 2010). A consequence of these gaps is uncertainty in the understanding of water dependency.

Further discussion on gaps and opportunities is also outlined in Section 3.7 in companion product 3-4 (Lewis et al., 2018).

Last updated:
17 December 2018