The Blue Carbon Lab headed back down to Avalon in mid-November 2019 to continue to monitor gas fluxes from the 6 different types of vegetated coastal ecosystems.
The ecosystems monitored included tussock, shrubland, hypersaline, herbland, coastal dry and salt ponds. The team is monitoring a total of 54 plots, taking soil greenhouse gas measurements every 3-months for one year (to capture seasonal changes), a soil core during the initial measurements, and another soil core 2 years later to monitor the accumulation of carbon over that time period.
Initial data results show herbland is storing the largest amount of carbon. This data and information will be used to inform the restoration action plan that we will create for Avalon Coastal Reserve.
The team was joined by Dr. Velentin Heimhuber from the UNSW Water Research Lab. Tino came down to collect data from the data loggers that his team installed during their last visit in August 2019. The data from the water level loggers will be used to develop a hydrological model for Avalon Coastal Reserve to test various restoration options. Initial results from the restoration scenarios are expected mid-2020.
