Comment on ‘An overview of the patterned fens of Great Sandy Region, far eastern Australia’ by Fairfax & Lindsay (2019)

Abstract

Fairfax & Lindsay (2019) present an overview of patterned fens in the Grand Sandy Region, eastern Australia, and state that the source of groundwater for the patterned fens in that region is from general discharge of the ‘coastal sand dune systems’, citing McDougall et al. (2017). However, our publication is more specific and clearly states that, based on water chemistry data, the source of groundwater for the fens in the Cooloola area is a local perched aquifer. This is supported by other soils-specific references cited by Fairfax & Lindsay (2019) that suggest that the area is associated with perched water tables. Finally, examples of fens on the mainland of Australia highlight that not all fens are in the presence of deep regional sandmass aquifers. In conclusion, we surmise that in order to protect groundwater fed ecosystems, detailed hydrological research is necessary for every specific site.

Keywords

• groundwater
• groundwater dependent ecosystems