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TeaComposition H2O

Global Wetland Decomposition Initiative

 TeaComposition H2O is a global-scale analysis of litter decomposition within wetland ecosystems using household tea bags or Tea Decomposition.

 

The approach involves a novel, scientific technique for measuring carbon decomposition at low cost with the use of tea bags (Keuskamp et al. 2013).

Two tea types (green and red, made by Lipton) with contrasting decomposability will serve as a model plant litter to elucidate microbial carbon cycling across ecosystems and climatic regions. The main goals are (1) to track the biomass and carbon loss during decomposition, and (2) analyze the microbial communities driving the decomposition process.

Background

Wetlands are among the world’s most effective ecosystems for carbon sequestration by trapping and storing greenhouse gasses naturally. Maintenance or loss of wetland ecosystems will therefore have profound impact on the Earth’s climate.

What is missing, however, is standardized information on how carbon retention varies among wetland types – i.e. why (and how) do some wetlands sequester carbon better than others, and thereby helping offset the atmospheric CO2 pool?

Plant litter decomposition is the key process in the early sequestration/emission stage of the carbon cycle. At the foundation, microbial soil communities dictate the fate of the carbon, whether it be sequestered carbon or carbon emitted as carbon dioxide.

Program Scale

Tea bags have been deployed around the world in coastal wetlands (mangrove, tidal marshes, and seagrass), freshwater wetlands: bogs, fens, riverine, lacustrine) and aquatic ecosystems (seaweeds, streams, ponds).

sites
countries
tea bags deployed
percent retrieved

Interactive StoryMap

Interactive StoryMap

Access the StoryMap for interactive results

Project Partners

This work is led by Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett from Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab. Project partners include Zymo research and TeaComposition.

Selected Media & Publications

  • Djukic et al. 2018. Early stage litter decomposition across biomes. Science of the total Environment 628: 1369-1394.

  • Keuskamp et al. 2013. Tea Bag Index: a novel approach to collect uniform decomposition data across ecosystems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 4: 1070-1075.

  • Microbial decomposition in Australian wetland ecosystems. Presentation at the Australian Mangrove and Saltmarsh Network (AMSN | June 2019)
  • TeaComposition H2O. Presentation at the #SWSTwitterSymp2019 (Oct 2019)
  • Sediment microprofiling experiments with visiting scientist (Blue Carbon Lab media release| Jan 2019)
  • Mangroves: Carbon sequestration superheroes (TenPlay, ScopeTv E:63 Australia | Aug 2018 ) Skip to 20 min mark.
  • Teabags buried on Phillip Island hold clues to the secret life of soil (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia | Feb 2018)
  • City bankers forego afternoon tea in pursuit of innovative climate change solution (Sunday Star Times, New Zealand | Dec 2018)
  • Tea Time in the Wetlands (H2O radio | March 2017)
  • Scientists hope wetland carbon storage experiment is everyone’s cup of tea (The Guardian, Australia |  Feb 2017)
  • Zymo Research Partners with TeaComposition H2O Project (Zymo Media release | March 2017)

#TeaCompositionH2O

Follow the program on social media using #TeaCompositionH2O and @stacey_teetee

Contact

Dr Stacey Trevathan-Tackett (s.trevathantackett@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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