Inland Waters

Riparian Vegetation

From an ecological perspective, riparian land is any land that adjoins, regularly influences, or is influenced by a body of water. In good condition, riparian vegetation supports the resilience of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, allows recovery from disturbance and maintains biodiversity. Riparian land is valued for many human uses such as agriculture and recreation, but as a result riparian vegetation has been degraded. Uncontrolled stock access to riparian zones continues to be the major pressure on riparian vegetation statewide. In 2004, only 14% of reach length assessed across Victoria was found to have riparian vegetation in good condition. Protection and restoration of riparian vegetation has been promoted through a number of means. There are about 30,000 km of Crown water frontages along rivers in Victoria, but to date the conservation intent of policy for these frontages has not translated to on-ground conservation outcomes.

This section presents the current condition of riparian vegetation for major rivers and tributaries based on the 2004 Index of Stream Condition assessment. Ongoing threats to riparian vegetation are identified, and implications of the current condition are discussed. This section also provides an overview of management responses and presents recommendations relating to riparian vegetation in Victoria.

Part 4.3.3 - Riparian Vegetation (PDF - 3.8 MB)