Melbourne mangrove restoration research completed!

Despite the rainy week that preceded the field trip, the skies opened on Friday and the sun shinned on our #BlueCarbonArmy  🙂

The Citizen Science Day began at the HSBC’s London room, where participants received quick introductions to natural capital, coastal wetlands and Blue Carbon.

After a short drive to Stony Creek on Melbourne’s southeast, Steve Wilson (president of Friends of Stony Creek) met us at the site and shared with us the troublesome history of the site. Surrounded by industrial neighbours, the mangroves in the area have successfully withstood several toxic spills of oil, ink, fertilizers, and detergent, since their planting in 1986.

Research efforts at the site were directed to quantify how much Blue Carbon has been gained since with the arrival and expansion of the mangroves. Previous citizen scientists had collected data from areas colonised in 1986 and 1996. We were now set to the sample the 2006 zone (colourful points in the map).

Three teams of enthusiastic participants -armed with mallets, grips, pipes, and measuring tapes- sampled above ground and below ground carbon along three transect lines.

Above-ground measurements of #BlueCarbon involved sampling of mangrove tree height, canopy width, and stem diameter. Instead, below-ground sampling included the collection of 1m soil cores using PVC pipes. Deep soil samples were extruded on site by Dr Pawel Waryszak and Darren from Geelong Port, allowing participants a glimpse of the key role that mangroves play trapping petrochemicals!

Soil samples will be analysed for carbon stocks by Deakin University (ie. using an elemental C:N analyser) and for age dating by Edith Cowan University (ie. using Pb210).

Despite the high tree density, participants finished their sampling on time and completed the last sampling required for this research!

Massive thanks to all the great citizen scientists that joined us on the day.