Retreating Melaleuca swamp forests in Kakadu National Park: Evidence of synergistic effects of climate change and past feral buffalo impacts

A 5% contraction of Melaleuca swamp forests in Kakadu National Park over the past 50 years has been attributed to the synergistic effects of climate change and past feral buffalo impacts. The study, using georeferenced aerial photography from 1964, 1984, and 2004, found that the greatest decline occurred between 1984 and 2004, coinciding with low buffalo densities but high salinization driven by sea level rise. Contraction was most pronounced at forest edges, low-lying sites, and areas previously affected by high buffalo densities, suggesting a lasting legacy of past damage that amplifies the impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems.

BOWMAN, D. M. J. S., PRIOR, L. D., & DE LITTLE, S. C. (2010). Retreating Melaleuca swamp forests in Kakadu National Park: Evidence of synergistic effects of climate change and past feral buffalo impacts. Austral Ecology, 35(8), 898–905. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.02096.x