CARBON TO THE MANAGEMENT OF AUSTRALIAS COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS Quinn - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

THE IM IMPORTANCE OF BLUE CARBON TO THE MANAGEMENT OF AUSTRALIA’S COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS Quinn Ollivier

www.bluecarbonlab.org

“Let’s have no demonisation of coal. Coal is good for humanity, coal is good for prosperity, coal is an essential part of our economic future, here in Australia, and right around the world” Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Carbon Farming Initiative Emission Reduction Fund

Biosequestration

Bryan, B. A., Runting, R. K., Capon, T., Perring, M. P., Cunningham, S. C., Kragt, M. E., ... & Christian, R. (2016). Designer policy for carbon and biodiversity co-benefits under global change. Nature Climate Change, 6(3), 301-305.

Limitations

• Nutrients & Water
• Area
• Longevity & Saturation

Biodiversity (%) Carbon (Mt CO2 yr-1) Trade-Offs

Blu lue Carbon

Carbon stored and sequestered in coastal ecosystems

Major players

Seagrasses Tidal marshes Mangroves

Coastal Vegetated Systems

Is blue the new green?

~40-times faster than forests

High carbon burial rates

Bind carbon for millennial time scales

Long-term sinks

Don’t reach saturation point

High capacity

100 200 300 Tropical forest Boreal forest Temperate forest Seagrass Saltmarsh Mangrove Green C habitat Blue C habitat Carbon burial rate (g C m-2 yr-1)

Data source: McLeod et al. 2011

Ecosystem Services

$US 4.9 trillion y-1, are attributed to these often degraded wetland systems. (Costanza et al. 1997)

• Nutrient filtration of agricultural run-off
• Trapping of heavy metals in anaerobic

sulfide rich sediments

Water Quality Improvement (Gedan et al. 2009)

• Nursery grounds for juvenile fish
• Mangrove forest area has a positive

relationship with local fishery yields

Food Source (Aburto-Oropeza et al. 2008)

• Reduced erosion due to greater root structure
• Mitigation of storm and flood effects

Coastal Protection (Othman 1994)

How do we as land managers and researchers capitalise on blue carbon opportunities?

Our research:

• Where are the blue carbon hotspots

and why?

• What is blue carbon made of, where

did it come from?

• Are blue carbon stocks under threat?
• What is the feasibility of restoration

and what are the market

• pportunities?

Tonnes Corg ha-1

Blu lue Carb rbon Stocks in in CCMA

Sediment Stock Survey

A total of 65 coastal locations in CCMA

• Saltmarsh, seagrass, and mangroves

Coastal Results:

• Over 1.47 million tonnes CO2 equivalence (top 30cm)
• Worth a conservative price >$17.9 million

64% 35%

Hot Spots & Loss

• 60% loss of Corangamite saltmarsh since

European settlement. (Boon & Sinclair 2012)

• Based on current 30cm stocks, ~ > 212,000

tonnes Corg lost

• 778,000 tonnes CO2 eq. = $9.45 million lost

2 4 6

Site %Corg DW Integrated over the depth profile of 10cm

Highly Variable Carbon Concentrations

(Ewers., Carnell et al. In Prep)

Blu lue Carb rbon Stocks in in CCMA

Geomorphology as a major driver

2 3 4 5 6

−26 −24 −22 −20 −18

d13C d15N

region Middle Harbour Northern Pelican Banks Southern Harbour Southern Pelican Banks The Narrows

Stable isotopes

Serrano et al. (2016) Can mud (silt and clay) concentration be used to predict soil organic carbon content within seagrass ecosystems? Biogesciences Kelleway et al. (2016) Sedimentary factors are key predictors of carbon storage in SE saltmarshes. Ecosystems

y = 0.0238x + 0.1032 R² = 0.8541 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 20 40 60 80 100 Organic carbon (%) Mud content

The Narrows Northern Banks Carbon Isotopes Mud Content (%) Organic Carbon (%)

Carbon Storage

Chemical Stability

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 5 25 50 80 Proportion of organic carbon Sediment depth (cm) Refractory Recalcitrant Labile

Macreadie et al. in prep

7,840 years!

0 m 3.5 m

• 3 Impacted and 3 Unimpacted

Estuaries (2 in Corangamite Catchment)

• Genetic Sequencing of bacteria and

fungi

Sampling along Shipwreck Coast

Seagrass Health and Their Mic icrobes

• How do seagrass-associated microbes

vary across impacted and unimpacted estuaries?

• Effects on health or function?

(Stacey Trevathan-Tackett – Post Doc.)

Disturbance to blue carbon ecosystems: Physical

~1,000 years of C loss

Macreadie et al. (2015) Losses of organic carbon from a seagrass ecosystem following disturbance. Proc B

Disturbance to blue carbon ecosystems: Biological

Atwood et al. 2015. Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems. Nature Climate Change

Low Predation High Predation Sequestration (Mg ha yr-1) Stocks (g m-2)

What would better management lo look li like?

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant 2016-19: Optimal management of coastal ecosystems for blue carbon sequestration. Partners: TNC, DELWP (State Government), Parks Victoria

Understanding Global Green House Gas Emissions: An Investigation of Corangamite Farm Dams

1.

Understanding Global Green House Gas Emissions: An Investigation of Corangamite Farm Dams

• Vegetation
• Nutrients
• Land-use
• Sediment qualities

Influencing Factors Management Implications

• Fencing or planting
• Effluent containment
• Sedimentary criteria

1.

Map of the Aire River Estuary under varying flooding scenarios, taken from the Aire River Estuary Management Plan (2015).

Carbon in the Aire River Estuary

2.

• Surface Elevation Tables (SETs)
• Carbon Concentration
• Water Depth

Carbon in the Aire River Estuary

• Carbon data and methodology

applicable to the ERF

• Compensation for private

landholders

• Scenario based management

Data Collection Research Outcomes

2.

Carbon offsetting opportunities across the Corangamite region

Generation capacity Permanency Blue carbon index Preservation Storage capacity

=

Kelleway et al. (2015) Seventy years of continuous encroachment substantially increases ‘blue carbon’ capacity as mangroves replace intertidal saltmarshes. Global Change Biology Rogers et al. in prep

3.

Carbon offsetting opportunities across the Corangamite region

General Classification

• Land Type
• Current Use

Sub-categories

• Avoidable Emissions
• Carbon Gains

Explanatory Variables

Offset Modeling Restoration Focus

• Availability
• Feasibility
• Cost / Economic Return

Blue carbon index

3.

www.bluecarbonla lab.o .org

The End & Thank You

Research Outcomes:

• Pinpoint areas of high C concentration
• Inform on better management of farm dams
• Case study for estuary-scale carbon additionality

projects

• Highlight opportunities for carbon offsetting

across the Corangamite region.

Quinn Ollivier

Aburto-Oropeza, Octavio, et al. "Mangroves in the Gulf of California increase fishery yields." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105.30 (2008): 10456-10459. Othman, M. A. (1994). Value of mangroves in coastal

• protection. In Ecology and Conservation of Southeast Asian

Marine and Freshwater Environments including Wetlands (pp. 277-282). Springer Netherlands. Costanza Gedan, K. Bromberg, B. R. Silliman, and M. D. Bertness. "Centuries of human-driven change in salt marsh ecosystems." Marine Science 1 (2009). Ford, M. A., & Grace, J. B. (1998). Effects of vertebrate herbivores on soil processes, plant biomass, litter accumulation and soil elevation changes in a coastal marsh. Journal of Ecology, 86(6), 974-982.

Macroalgae?

Hill et al. (2015) Can macroalgae contribute to blue carbon? An Australian perspective. Limnology and Oceanography Trevathan-Tackett et al. (2015). Comparison of marine macrophytes for their contribution to blue carbon sequestration. Ecology