The Interlaken Lakeside Reserve is a wetland reserve at

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

Interlaken, lying at the north-western end of Lake Crescent on the Interlaken isthmus between the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

s of Lakes Sorell and Crescent, about 20 km west of Tunbridge, in the Central Highlands of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In 1982 it was designated a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It ...

Description

The 520 ha Ramsar site is about one third open water and one third dry land, with the remaining third consisting mainly of ''

Triglochin procera ''Triglochin'' is a plant genus in the family Juncaginaceae described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is very nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, with species on every continent except Antarctica. North America has four accepted species, two of wh ...

'' – ''

Baumea arthrophylla ''Baumea arthrophylla''(now known as Machaerina arthrophylla) is a flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae that is native to many states and territories of Australia. The grass-like plant is rhizomatous and perennial, with a tufted habi ...

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

. Wetland conditions depend on management of water levels in Lake Crescent, which receives water from Lake Sorell and supplies it to the Clyde River for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

in the Clyde Valley. The site is one of three known localities in Tasmania for the

sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

'' Scirpus mantivagus'' and '' Isolepis montivaga'', and for the swamp wallaby grass ''

Amphibromus neesii ''Amphibromus'' is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae. Most are known as swamp wallaby grass.Thieret, J. W''Amphibromus''. Grass Manual. Flora of North America.waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...

, especially

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon ...

s, for feeding, nesting and resting, as well as serving as a

drought refuge A drought refuge is a site that provides permanent fresh water or moist conditions for plants and animals, acting as a refuge habitat when surrounding areas are affected by drought and allowing ecosystems and core species populations to survive unt ...

. Lake Crescent supports a population of

golden galaxias The Golden galaxias (''Galaxias auratus'') is an endangered species of landlocked galaxiid fish belonging to the genus ''Galaxias''. It is Endemism, endemic to Lakes Crescent, Sorell, and their associated waterways located in central Tasmania, Austr ...

. Human activities include

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishin ...

and

duck shooting Waterfowl hunting (also called wildfowling or waterfowl shooting in the UK) is the practice of hunting ducks, geese, or other waterfowl for food and sport. Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitat, have overlapping or identical hunt ...

References

Ramsar sites in Australia Central Highlands (Tasmania) {{CentralHighlandsTAS-geo-stub