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FRESHWATER WETLAND RESTORATION

Maximising carbon sequestration in restored freshwater wetlands

The Murray Wetland Carbon Storage Project is one of Australia’s most comprehensive investigations of freshwater wetland carbon stocks to date. The six-year initiative has been a collaboration among landowners, scientists, community and government agencies to rehabilitate wetlands and measure their carbon storage capacity.

When wetlands become degraded through changes in land use and water flow, they stop being carbon sinks and instead begin to release much of their stored carbon. Rehabilitation efforts are designed to maximise the carbon capture capacity of wetlands and minimise release of greenhouse gases.

Through this program, landowners across Victoria and New South Wales restored 3,750 hectares of freshwater wetlands. The research found that the rehabilitation of freshwater wetlands through works such as fencing and revegetation can result in a significant increase in carbon storage over time.

Soil carbon stocks from the top layers tend to improve regardless of the history and environmental characteristics of the wetland (such as previous land-use, soil type, frequency of inundation, and elevation). This means that wetland rehabilitation is highly beneficial and can improve the ability of a site to capture and store carbon.

Jo and Peter Rayner, a farming family in Walla Walla, New South Wales, own a 12-hectare wetland that gained new life, thanks to the project. The preliminary estimates from this particular wetland show that rehabilitation has led to an offset of 2.6 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions per hectare, per year.

Wetlands spin carbon magic (Geelong Advertiser)

Wetlands spin blue carbon magic_ Paul Carnell

Project partners & Funding sources

This project was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant.

Research work was led by Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab, in collaboration with local Catchment Management Authorities, Murray Local Land Services, and the Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group.

 

@BlueCarbonLab

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Contact

Dr Paul Carnell
(paul.carnell@deakin.edu.au)

Deakin University
  • Home
  • About
    • What we are about
    • Who we are
      • Professor Peter Macreadie
      • Dr Paul Carnell
      • Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett
      • Dr Maria M. Palacios
      • Dr Pawel Waryszak
      • Dr Melissa Wartman
      • Dr Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa
      • Dr Noyan Yilmaz
      • Dr Martino Malerba
      • Dr Lukas Schuster
      • Dr Tanveer Adyel
      • Dr Sabiha Marine
      • Dr Vincent Raoult
      • Dr Jacqui Pocklington
      • Interns and Volunteers
      • Alumni
  • Research
    • Blue Carbon
      • Seychelles Blue Carbon
      • Queensland Blue
      • Victoria’s Blue Carbon
      • Blue Carbon Management
      • Tea Composition H2O
    • Teal Carbon
      • Farm dams
      • Floating wetlands
      • Revitalising Australia’s Freshwater Wetlands
    • Valuing Ecosystem Services
      • Mapping Ocean Wealth
      • Guide to Valuing Coastal Wetlands
    • Ecosystem Restoration
      • Coastal Wetland Restoration
        • The Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program
        • Regenerating Our Coasts
        • Towards Blue Carbon Australian Carbon Credit Units
      • Kelp restoration
      • Freshwater Wetland Restoration
    • Citizen Science
      • HSBC citizen science
      • GeelongPort citizen science
    • Microplastics
    • Marine Biosecurity
    • Decommissioning Infrastructure
  • Services
    • Wetland Carbon Assessments
    • Environmental Assessments
    • Environmental Restoration
    • Citizen Science
    • System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)
    • Feasibility Assessments
    • Remote Sensing
    • Microbial Analysis
    • Marine Biosecurity
  • Publications
  • Opportunities
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
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