Conference presentation
Mangrove Rehabilitation to Combat Sea Level Acceleration: A case study from the Blue Heart Wetlands, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Asia Pacific Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) , 2nd (Gold Coast, Australia, 02-Apr-2024 - 05-Apr-2024)
International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SEDEWES)
2024
Abstract
Mangroves restoration and rehabilitation efforts (i.e., Blue Carbon Projects) have gained recognition in climate change mitigation programmes globally, mainly because of the ability of these ecosystems to store atmospheric carbon long-term while keeping track with sea-level acceleration. The Blue Heart is such a project initiated by Sunshine Coast Council, Queensland, Australia to rehabilitate degraded agricultural lands and pastures on low-lying (< 1 m Australian Height Datum) Maroochy River floodplains in Queensland, Australia, back to coastal wetlands. We deployed a network of surface elevation monitoring stations (n = 24) called Rod Surface Elevation Table – Marker Horizons (RSET-MH) across two rehabilitating sites (Phase 1 and Phase 2) based on elevation (high: > 0.5 m; medium: 0.25 – 0.7 m; and low: < 0.25 m) and two mature mangrove stands (reference site 1 and reference site 2) in Blue Heart area. The RSET-MH stations can precisely measure surface elevational changes on millimetre scale giving valuable information about vertical accretion and subsidence. These RSET-MH stations are accompanied with hydrostatic pressure sensors which provide data on tidal inundation, groundwater fluctuations and hydroperiods. In addition, the soil carbon stocks (in megagrams of carbon per hectare-metre: Mg C per ham) of these rehabilitating wetlands and mature mangroves were also estimated. The preliminary data (data collected only after one year from deployment of RSET-MH stations) suggests that surface elevational changes in Blue Heart wetlands range from-8.68 (mature mangroves if reference site 2) to 16.32 mm year-1 (immature mangroves in Phase 1). The average elevational change for rehabilitating site in Phase 1 is 13 mm year-1 , which surpasses the local sea-level acceleration of 2.1 mm year-1 from 1987 to 2021. The carbon stock estimates revealed that mature mangroves store the largest soil carbon pool (410 Mg of C per ham) compared to rehabilitating sites (Phase 1: 190-270 Mg of C per ham ; Phase 2: 84-127 Mg of C per ham). In summary, these results indicate that rehabilitating wetlands in Blue Heart have greater accommodation space for sediment accumulation raising their surface elevation and carbon storage, and thereby sustain long-term by keeping pace with sea-level acceleration.
Details
- Title
- Mangrove Rehabilitation to Combat Sea Level Acceleration: A case study from the Blue Heart Wetlands, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Authors
- Gareth R L Chalmers (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringPestheruwe Liyanaralalage Cooray (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringDavid Chittleborough (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Conference details
- Asia Pacific Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) , 2nd (Gold Coast, Australia, 02-Apr-2024 - 05-Apr-2024)
- Publisher
- International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SEDEWES)
- Grants
- Blue Heart Wetland Restoration, 0980027019, Sunshine Coast Council
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991038398602621
- Output Type
- Conference presentation
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