Counts of seedling recruitment in vegetation plots collected as part of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) Flow-MER program in the Murray-Darling Basin. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation is focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. This Flow-MER data set includes and extends the long-term data collected at the same sites during the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019). ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH (2024) Vegetation Recruitment. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-vegetation-recruitment on [date-sourced].

Spatial data set of valley boundaries in the Murray-Darling Basin used to support the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s (CEWH) monitoring, evaluation and research activities. Modified from the Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) valleys to partition the Selected Areas used in the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project and Flow-MER program and to align with water accounting in the Basin. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWO to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. For more information and reporting using these data see https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/cewo-mer-program. ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH Flow-MER (2023) CEWH Murray-Darling Basin valley boundaries. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/cewo-mdb-valleys on [date-sourced].

Geofabric watercourse lines in the Murray-Darling Basin mapping the annual frequency of Commonwealth environmental water in each 12 month water accounting year (1st July to 30th June). River lines are extracted from the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (Geofabric) v3.2 SH_Network. http://www.bom.gov.au/water/geofabric/index.shtml Compiled by the Flow-MER Basin-scale Program. 2014-2019 data based on information from the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project. ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH (2024) Frequency of Commonwealth environmental water - watercourses. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-cew-frequency-watercourses on [date-sourced].

This data set extends the MDBA published Murray-Darling Basin managed floodplain (https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/murray-darling-basin-managed-floodplain) to include all areas watered with Commonwealth environmental water 2014-2021. Areas that are added are mapped by polygons from the ANAE classification of the Murray-Darling Basin data set that were identified as receiving inundation by Commonwealth environmental water by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s (CEWH) Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019) and the first two years of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (Flow-MER) program. The MDBA published Murray-Darling Basin managed floodplain (https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/murray-darling-basin-managed-floodplain) is a spatial data set that estimates the extent of the Murray-Darling Basin that can be influenced by environmental water under the Basin Plan. It includes: * actively managed areas that can receive environmental water via large headwater storages or via The Living Murray ‘environmental works’ sites on the River Murray floodplain * passively managed areas that receive environmental water via flow rules in water resource plans or via natural events * areas that may be inundated with high flows if key constraints are overcome The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWO to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. For more information on methods and reporting using these data see https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/cewo/monitoring/mer-program ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program participants acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH Flow-MER (2022) Flow-MER MDB managed floodplain. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-managed-floodplain on [date-accessed]

Water quality parameters that are measured by field teams at various sampling points within the Murray-Darling Basin on discrete dates as part of the CEWH's Flow-MER program. Includes measures of: * discharge * ecosystem respiration * gross primary productivity * water velocity * chlorophyll a * total nitrogen * nitrate and nitrite * ammonium * total phosphorus * filterable reactive phosphorus * dissolved organic carbon The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation is focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. This Flow-MER data set includes and extends the long-term data collected at the same sites during the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019). ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWO (2024) Water Quality Measurements. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced on from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-water-quality on [date-sourced].

Frog diversity and abundance and tadpole counts are measured annually by the Flow-MER program in wetlands of the Murrumbidgee river system and Gwydir river system. An earlier contribution (2015) from the Lachlan River is also included. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation is focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. This Flow-MER data set includes and extends the long-term data collected at the same sites during the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019). ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH Flow-MER (2023) Frog Abundance. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-frog-abundance on [date-sourced].

Extent of surface water (outside of river channels) thought to contain Commonwealth environmental water either alone or in partnership with other water holders. Mapped as the annual frequency of inundation. Raster data set derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 observations of water extent checked annually with water managers. Excludes natural flooding and inundation by other sources of environmental water where there was not a component of Commonwealth environmental water. Compiled by the Flow-MER Basin scale project. 2014-2019 data based on information from the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. For more information on methods and reporting using these data see https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/cewo/monitoring/mer-program. ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program participants acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH (2024) Frequency of Commonwealth environmental water - wetland and floodplain inundation 2014-2021. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-cew-inundation on [date-sourced].

Water quality parameters expressed as concentrations as the total export from the Murray-Darling Basin contained within all water sources (total combined natural flows plus managed environmental water). Data are collected to calibrate transport models by the Lower-Murray Selected Area for as part of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder's (CEWH) Flow-MER program. Total daily concentrations for: * Salinity (practical salinity units) * Phosphate * Particulate Organic Phosphorus * Ammonium * Particulate Organic Nitrogen * Dissolved Silica * Chlorophyll a The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation is focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. This Flow-MER data set includes and extends the long-term data collected at the same sites during the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019). ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH (2024) Flow-MER Lower Murray salt and nutrient export (loads/concentrations), Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-lower-murray-salt-and-nutrient-export on [date-sourced].

The Flow-MER research project identification and characterisation of refuge habitat research project applied systematic conservation planning using MARXAN to identify wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB ) that may act as climate refugia. Refuge habitats were identified as wetlands with the least deviation in water levels, that were the most feasible to manage and could supported target species, ecosystems and functions. MARXAN uses a simulated annealing algorithm to identify a set of planning units that maximises the representation of ecological asset, while aiming to capture a defined target for each asset and minimise ‘cost’. The ‘cost’ of a planning unit was weighted by its capacity to act as a refuge (dryness anomaly), catchment condition and connectivity (River Disturbance Index) and management feasibility (previous environmental water delivery). The two data tables join to the Australian National Aquatic Ecosystems (ANAE) v3.0 Classification of the Murray-Darling Basin (2021) using the mapped wetland polygon UID attribute. 1. marxan_cost_managable_floodplain.csv contains MARXAN cost values and final solution set for all lakes and palustrine wetland within scope for water management (on the managed floodplain) in the MDB. 2. marxan_cost_wetlands_water_mgmnt_2014-2020.csv contains the MARXAN attributes and solution for the subset of wetlands that have previously received Commonwealth environmental water during the 6 year period 2014-2020. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Wetlands and lakes are refuges for plants and animals during droughts and other hard times. Maintaining refugia in the Murray–Darling Basin is a key objective of Commonwealth environmental water management. ### Project Report Bennett J M, Brooks S, Bush A, Hitchcock J, Linke S (2023) Identifying and characterising refugia habitat for target organisms across the Murray–Darling Basin. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s Science Program: Flow Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (Flow-MER). Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 55pp. ### Data Citation CEWH (2025) MARXAN Identification of refuge habitat in the Murray-Darling Basin. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-research-marxan-refuge-habitat on [date-sourced]. ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program participants acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data.

Conservation of riverine and wetland vegetation diversity is a key objective of the Basin Plan, and was a core element investigated at the Basin-scale in the LTIM Project. The CEWO’s LTIM Project examined the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and assisted the CEWO to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation was focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. These areas will continue to be monitored through the CEWO’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (MER) Program. Data collected by monitoring at Selected Areas is used to evaluate local outcomes from watering and also contributed to the analysis and evaluation of Basin Plan objectives. Vegetation diversity data was collected and used over the duration of the LTIM Project from 2014-15 to 2018-19 from four wetland Selected Areas (Gwydir, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and junction of Warrego-Darling river systems) and two riverine Selected Areas (Edward/Kolety-Wakool and Goulburn river systems), considering plant species diversity and vegetation community diversity. Data collected* includes the percent cover of plant species present within three vegetation strata (groundlayer, understorey and overstorey) and a range of environmental variables (e.g. soil moisture) at time of sampling. *Data collected from the Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system is limited to Category 3 and does not have the same taxonomic resolution or range of observations as that from other Selected Areas. Please refer to the Murray-Darling Basin LTIM Project: 2018-19 Basin-scale evaluation of Commonwealth environmental water – Vegetation Diversity Report for the detailed method on data used for evaluation. ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We thank them for their knowledge and science and respect their continuing connection to culture and Country and the values reflected in these data.