Floodplain tree stand condition by area 1988–2021

In the Sustainable Rivers Audit 2025 (SRA), the latest iteration of the Stand Condition Tool (SCT), paired with updated vegetation extent maps, was used to assess the condition of floodplain trees. From the SCT and associated inputs, an excel spreadsheet was output. This spreadsheet calculated the percentage of floodplain tree area in moderate-to-good condition across an annual time series from 1988–2021 for each of the 23 SRA valleys. These calculations were provided for the area of all floodplain trees, as well as for key individual species: river red gum, black box and coolabah. For more information on the methodology used in this analysis, please refer to EcoFutures final reports:

• Sustainable Rivers Audit 3 – Contribution of the Basin Plan to the condition of selected environmental values [PDF 9.8 MB] by Gawne et al., (2025a) (prepared by EcoFutures).

• Valley scale assessment of current condition and trend for environmental values in the northern Murray–Darling Basin [PDF 13.0 MB] by Gawne et al., (2025b) (prepared by EcoFutures).

• Valley scale assessment of current condition and trend for environmental values in the southern Murray–Darling Basin [PDF 23.8 MB] by Gawne et al., (2025c) (prepared by EcoFutures).

This excel spreadsheet was used in the 2025 SRA to:

• Undertake the visual assessment of trend using the full time series from 1988–2021

• Describe the temporal patterns of change in area of individual tree species (e.g., river red gum, black box and coolabah) in moderate-to-good condition for each the 23 valley reports.