Riparian Health

Riparian health is vital in our catchments to support high levels of biodiversity – both plants and animals. Recognising this and given the extensive degradation of riparian zones in Australia, there is a need for a rapid method of measuring riparian condition to underpin strategies for improved management.

Streamwatch and Greater Sydney Landcare, in collaboration with Western Sydney University, joined community volunteers as part of a hands-on workshop to assess the riparian health to upskill citizen scientists in the latest assessment tool. Our second community day was held in December at Yarramundi (Nauva Reserve) – another popular recreational area in the Hawkesbury region that was recently impacted by significant flooding.

Volunteers used the Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (RARC) for the southern tablelands  of New South Wales as part of the training. Volunteers assessed the ecological condition of riparian habitats using indicators that reflect functional aspects of the physical, community and landscape features of the riparian zone. Download the guide here (opens in a new window) to learn more or to undertake your own riparian assesement.

Our Findings

This pilot assessment indicated that the condition of the riparian zone at Yarramundi needs major improvements. The RARC index score was 22.75, which is considered ‘very poor’ on the RARC scale.

A few reasons this could be:

• Yarramundi is heavily used for recreational swimming as an urban heat refuge for Western Sydney. The use of this space influences the growth of the vegetation as people seek shade under the large trees along the River’s edge (i.e. riparian zone).
• Yarramundi was heavily impacted by the 2021 Hawkesbury-Nepean River March floods (which occurred before our training day) that disturbed the riparian zone by removing and knocking down trees and leaving large sand deposits.