Habitat fragmentation and environmental flows, Condamine-Balonne River, Murray-Darling Basin, Qld

This project will quantify the impact of water resource development on a semi-arid floodplain river, the Condamine-Balonne river in southern Queensland by exploring:1. the nature of habitat heterogeneity on the floodplain;2. how habitat heterogeneity influences floodplain carbon dynamics;3. is habitat heterogeneity important for invertegrate assemblage composition and diversity;4. how water resource development impacts habitat heterogeneity on the floodplain; and5. what impacts these changes have on floodplain ecosystem processes.The project will assist in identifying realistic environmental flow criteria for semi-arid zone rivers. It has national and international significance as it will predict the impact of water resource development on habitat heterogeneity and floodplain processes in semi-arid floodplain rivers.