Wetlands experience fluctuating water levels, so their extent varies spatially and temporally. This characteristic is widespread and likely to increase as global temperatures and evaporation rates increase. The temporary nature of wetlands can confound where a wetland begins and ends, resulting in unreliable mapping and determination of wetland areas for inventory, planning or monitoring purposes. The occurrence of plants that rely on the presence of water for part or all of their life history can be a reliable way to determine the extent of water-affected ecosystems. A wetland plant indicator list (WPIL) could enable more accurate mapping and provide a tool for on-ground validation of wetland boundaries. However, this introduces the problem of the definition of ‘wetland plant’, especially with species that can tolerate, or require, water level fluctuation, and that respond to flooding or drought by adjusting their morphology or phenology (i.e. ‘amphibious’ plants and those that grow only during drawdown). In this study we developed a WPIL through a process of expert elicitation. The expert decisions were compared and standardised for each species. It is envisaged that this work will lead to a comprehensive listing of wetland plants for Australia for the purposes of planning, mapping and management.

This study of Northern Territory charophytes documents 22 species in 3 of the genera in tribe Chareae, family Characeae, including 15 previously described species (Chara benthamii, C. erythrogyna, C. globularis, C. karolii, C. lucida, C. porteri, C. protocharoides, C. setosa, C. submollusca, C. wightii, C. zeylanica, Lamprothamnium capitatum, L. compactum, L. stipitatum, Lychnothamnus barbatus) of which 2 are new for the Australian flora (C. erythrogyna and C. wightii), as well as 5 varieties raised to species rank (C. aridicola, C. arnhemensis, C. bancroftii, C. behriana, C. duriuscula), and 2 newly described species (C. lamprothamniformis, C. schultae). Three previously reported species in the tribe (C. braunii, C. corallina, C. fibrosa) are not recorded from the Northern Territory in this study, as previous records were based on erroneous identifications or localities. Although Northern Territory specimens of Lychnothamnus barbatus have not been seen, it has been included in this treatment, because it occurs in south-eastern Queensland, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. A key, illustrations and descriptions of all the species are provided.

Comprehensive charophyte surveys on the island of Sardinia, Italy revealed a novel species of Lamprothamnium occurring in a salt marsh in the vicinity of San Giovanni Sinis. Most of the discovery and description of charophyte species in Europe took place in the mid–late 1800s, so the discovery of a new species in the region is of note. The species is described and compared with the other species of Lamprothamnium known for the Mediterranean region of Europe and elsewhere. Lamprothamnium sardoum sp. nov. differs from all other species in having antheridia and oogonia clustered internal and external to the axial nodes and on the branchlets, and in the relative absence of sterile whorls, the length and width of its bract cells and decumbent stipulodes, and the persistence of the protonema on mature plants. In addition, data on hydrochemistry and accompanying flora of the Sardinian site of L. sardoum are presented together with proposals for management and conservation.