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Recap MEL field trip #11

By Blue Carbon Lab | Citizen Science, Fieldwork, HSBC | Comments are Closed | 9 April, 2019 | 0

Date: April 8, 2019

Participants: HSBC, KPMG, Woodside energy, ANZ, AusPost, Ernst & Young

Site: Stony Creek Backwash, Melbourne

Research: Quantifying Blue Carbon gains from mangrove restoration

From wasteland to wetland !

The day in the field kicked-off with Steve Wilson, president of Friends of Stony Creek, who introduced participants to the history and ecology of the site.  Steve explained that back in 1986 a Citizen Scientist planted >1000 mangrove seedlings at Stony Creek backwash, below the West Harbor Bridge. Although most of the mangroves died (probably due to all the chemicals and pollutants in the area), those that survived have been successfully expanding, transforming the coast from a wasteland to a wetland.

As part of the HSBC citizen science program, we are sampling the area to quantify how much Blue Carbon has been accumulating in the area thanks to the planting and spread of the mangrove forest. To achieve this, participants helped us survey the mangrove carbon stocks, both above ground (ie. measuring tree canopies, height, etc..) and below ground (ie. taking deep soil cores). In Blue Carbon systems, such as mangroves, up to 80%  of the atmospheric carbon trapped is stored in the soil.

Loaded with PVC pipes, mallets, grips, measuring tapes and quadrats, participants pierced through the thick forest to set 5m x 5m sampling plots. After a couple hours the tide started coming in and water rising above everyone’s gumboots. Despite the many wet socks, participants raced against the tide to finish all the sampling required! Sampling was intense with many plots having more than 80 mangrove trees.

Most of the soil cores collected were extruded on site, giving participants the opportunity to examine the different sediment layers on the cores. Old, deep layers had a black-oily look (indicating the pollution in the area decades ago), while those closer to the surface had healthy-brown layers deposited since the establishment of  of the mangroves.

Massive thanks to all the volunteers that joined the #BlueCarbonArmy to learn and contribute to Blue Carbon research!

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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 Valentina Hurtado-McCormick
      • Dr Elodie Camprasse
      • Dr Sabiha Marine
      • Dr Vincent Raoult
      • Dr Jacqui Pocklington
      • Interns and Volunteers
      • Alumni
  • Research
    • Wetland Carbon
      • Blue Carbon
        • Seychelles Blue Carbon
        • Queensland Blue
        • Victoria’s Blue Carbon
        • Blue Carbon Management
      • Teal Carbon
        • Farm dams
        • Floating wetlands
        • Revitalising Australia’s Freshwater Wetlands
      • Tea Composition H2O
    • Ecosystem services
    • 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
  • Vacancies
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
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