There is very little information available about the composition and structure of previous riparian forests of the upper Hunter however, because of the dryness of the area it is likely there was a dense band of vegetation along the river margin, with the forest becoming more open further from the river. A species list, developed by the Hunter and Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority Remnant Vegetation Project from a few forest remnants and early records, will help guide revegetation works.

The UHRRI plans to revegetate with 18 tree and shrub species, up to 18 ground-cover species, and five littoral species. Seeds or vegetative growth for propagation will be sourced, where possible, from local remnants.

Most of the tree and shrub species will be planted as longstem native tubestock. Developed by Hunter landcarer Bill Hicks, this innovative technique matures tubestock for up to 18 months using a specific nutrient and storage regime. The result is a climate-hardened plant with thick, woody, elongated stems (up to 2 m long) with closely spaced growth nodes from which roots sprout once the longstem is planted. The longstem is planted with its root ball buried 0.5–1.5 m deep in the soil, leaving only the top 5–10 cm of the plant above the surface.

Trial results show that longstems have the following advantages over regular native tubestock:

1. Increased growth and survival rates due to access to subsurface soil moisture
2. Ability to withstand flooding and provide rapid erosion control
3. Follow-up watering and weeding is largely unnecessary

Revegetation is expected to meet a number of ecological functions. It will re-establish riparian forest communities and habitat in an area largely devoid of native biodiversity. It will reduce bank erosion, and should have a positive effect on water quality and improve instream habitat quality for native aquatic species. It will also provide a much needed seed source for the colonisation of native species downstream.

The planting plan will seek to match or stratify appropriate species with landform. Because the hydrological regime of the river has changed due to river regulation, and river training has created new landforms, we accept that plant survival and future colonisation of the site by native species will be contingent on existing and developing environmental conditions (see research).

Update June 2004

By December 2003 some 40,000 trees and shrubs had been planted at a number of sites.  These had been planted by two teams of Green Corps, several Conservation Volunteers Australia teams, Department of Lands staff, contract planters, and volunteers on National Tree Day.

Between 40% and 95%, depending on site, of the trees and shrubs that were planted died due to the extreme drought.  While funding had been obtained for the purchase of the trees and shrubs and for planting, there was little or no funding for maintenance, such as watering.  In a year of average rainfall (c. 650 mm) the majority of these trees and shrubs would have survived, however the rainfall of c. 250 mm in 2003 meant that there was very little soil moisture available, even down at the roots of the long stem tubestock.

Conversely, plant growth has ranged from static to very good in areas where there was some soil moisture.

This has identified a limitation of longstem tubestock - while our capacity to water planted trees and shrubs was very low, it was impossible to get water down to the roots when we were able to water.  Had we been able to water them, it is possible that normal tubestock may have done better.  Fingers crossed for an improvement in rainfall over the next year.

Hares (Lepus europaeus) also contributed to mortality, by biting the tops off new plants down to the level of our tree guards.  Those that survived browse and drought have started to bush out with new leaders growing.