Rehabilitation of saline wetland, Olympics 2000 site, Sydney (Australia) -II: Saltmarsh transplantation trials and application

The New South Wales Olympic Go-ordination Authority, which is responsible f or the redevelopment of the site for the Olympic Games 2000, Sydney, is com mitted to the rehabilitation of the remnant ecosystems remaining on the sit e, This paper describes a 3-year saltmarsh transplantation project, and res ulting management approaches for the rehabilitation of other saline wetland areas on the site. Two series of cuttings (spring and autumn) were made, i ncluding three dominant species and three species rare in Sydney, It was fo und that all the species could be propagated without difficulty, but field survival and growth mere much higher for the spring series than the autumn one. Measurement was also made of the colonisation of mangrove and saltmars h species that occurred at the site over the course of the trials. New unde rstandings of estuarine wetland colonisation have emerged, and the informat ion has been used to develop methods of transplantation for other parts of the Olympic site, and to define management needs for monitoring success. (C ) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.