Changes in the distribution of mangroves in the Port Jackson-Parramatta River Estuary from 1930 to 1985.

Abstract

The Division of Fisheries is mapping the historical distribution of estuarine vegetation in a number of estuaries as part of an Estuarine Inventory of New South Wales. This preliminary report outlines the changes in distribution of mangroves in the Port Jackson-Parramatta River Estuary from 1930 to 1985. The Port Jackson-Parramatta River estuary is a ria (drowned river valley) on the coast of NSW, surrounded by the cities of Sydney and Parramatta. It is composed of three arms – Middle Harbour, the Lane Cove River, and Parramatta River/Duck Creek, and a deep harbour in which they converge (see fig. 1). Two species of mangrove grow in this estuary, Avicennia marina, the grey mangrove, and Aegiceras corniculatum, the river mangrove.