Rangeland rainpools fill from direct heavy rain helped by local runoff and usually persist for only a few weeks or months. They are of many types including rock pools (gnammas), grassy pools and gilgai, claypans and cane grass swamps, small freshwater and saline lakes, and various treed and vegetated swamps such as Blackbox swamps. Myriads of invertebrates come and go, various crustaceans hatching from resistant eggs in the subtsrate and an array of insects by flying in and out. All breed prolifically so that production usually peaks early in the hydroperiod. Generally rainpools are too episodic for management issues to arise, but mosquito production and cattle pugging can be problems.Â
Timms, B. (2010). Rainpools of the rangelands: hidden diversity and episodic production.In: Proceedings of the 16thBiennial Conference of the Australian Rangeland Society, Bourke (Eds D.J. Eldridge and C. Waters) (Australian Rangeland Society: Perth).
Full-text publications from the Australian Rangelands Society (ARS) Biennial Conference Proceedings (1997-), Rangeland Journal (ARS/CSIRO; 1976-), plus videos and other resources about the rangelands of Australia.