Ecological assessment and strategies for the management of mangroves in Brisbane Water—Gosford, New South Wales, Australia

Brisbane Water is an estuary located at Gosford, 50 km north of Sydney on the east coast of Australia. It contains seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh habitat. As part of a more widespread trend along the southeast coast of Australia, between 1954 and 1995 saltmarsh habitat within the estuary declined by 78.2% while mangrove habitat fluctuated with initial decline, recovery and further decline to 1995 with an overall increase by 3.7% and exhibiting a marked migration of mangroves into saltmarsh areas.No single factor is responsible for the changes. A combination of both natural and human induced processes is responsible. The loss of diversity and the sustainability of mangroves and saltmarshes require a strategic planning approach towards their management. Such an approach needs to ensure that estuarine and catchment processes are considered in an integrated manner. The influence of human activities on natural processes, which affects the extent and distribution of estuarine wetlands, can also be managed through an integrated planning process.