Koondrook-Perricoota Floodplain Soil Response Research - FCNSW1814

The condition of vegetation communities along the floodplains of the Murray-Darling River, including Koondrook-Perricoota forest, reflects a complex series of interactions between surface waters, groundwater, soils, and plants. Scientifically robust information on the response of soil condition and soil microbiota to wetting and drying cycles in Koondrook-Perricoota forest is required to support water management.

The purpose of the work is to establish the nature of the effect of flooding history and season on soil properties and the capacity of the soil microbial community to transform nutrients and carbon. To achieve this, the Contractor will sample a range of parameters from the soil and soil microbiota in the field, to enable: 

(i) a spatial comparison of floodplain areas with different inundation histories, and

(ii) changes in soil properties over seasonal timescales.

The work will also provide a baseline from which to determine changes in soil properties during and after future natural or managed inundation, in the context of seasonal cycles.