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

Biosequestration Carbon Farming Initiative Emission Reduction Fund

Trade-Offs Limitations Carbon (Mt CO 2 yr -1 ) • Nutrients & Water • Area • Longevity & Saturation Biodiversity (%) 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.

Blu lue Carbon Carbon stored and sequestered in coastal ecosystems Major players Seagrasses Tidal marshes Mangroves

Coastal Vegetated Systems Is blue the new green? Data source: McLeod et al. 2011 Green C habitat Blue C habitat Mangrove High carbon burial rates Saltmarsh ~40-times faster than forests Seagrass Temperate forest Long-term sinks Boreal forest Bind carbon for millennial time scales Tropical forest 0 100 200 300 High capacity Carbon burial rate (g C m -2 yr -1 ) Don’t reach saturation point

Ecosystem Services $US 4.9 trillion y -1 , are attributed to these often degraded wetland systems. (Costanza et al. 1997) Water Quality Improvement (Gedan et al . 2009) • Nutrient filtration of agricultural run-off • Trapping of heavy metals in anaerobic sulfide rich sediments Food Source (Aburto-Oropeza et al . 2008) • Nursery grounds for juvenile fish • Mangrove forest area has a positive relationship with local fishery yields Coastal Protection (Othman 1994) • Reduced erosion due to greater root structure • Mitigation of storm and flood effects

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 opportunities?

Tonnes C org 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 CO 2 equivalence (top 30cm) • Worth a conservative price >$17.9 million 64% 35%

Integrated over the depth profile of 10cm Blu lue Carb rbon Stocks in in CCMA 6 Hot Spots & Loss %Corg DW 4 • 60% loss of Corangamite saltmarsh since 2 European settlement. (Boon & Sinclair 2012) 0 Black Swan Boyne Island Channel Islands Facing Island Fishermans Landing Grahams Creek Pelican Banks North 1 Pelican Banks North 2 Pelican Banks North 3 Pelican Banks South 1 Pelican Banks South 2 South Facing Island Redcliffe South Trees Wiggins Island • Based on current 30cm stocks, ~ > 212,000 tonnes C org lost Site • 778,000 tonnes CO 2 eq. = $9.45 million lost Highly Variable Carbon Concentrations (Ewers., Carnell et al . In Prep)

Geomorphology as a major driver Carbon Isotopes Stable isotopes 3.0 The Narrows 6 Organic Carbon (%) 2.5 Organic carbon (%) 5 region 2.0 Middle Harbour 4 d15N Northern Pelican Banks 1.5 Southern Harbour Southern Pelican Banks 1.0 3 The Narrows y = 0.0238x + 0.1032 Northern Banks 0.5 R² = 0.8541 2 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 −26 −24 −22 −20 −18 Mud Content (%) Mud content d13C 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

Carbon Storage 0 m Chemical Stability 1 Proportion of organic carbon 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 Refractory 0.4 Recalcitrant 0.3 Labile 7,840 years! 0.2 0.1 0 0 5 25 50 80 3.5 m Sediment depth (cm) Macreadie et al. in prep

Seagrass Health and Their Mic icrobes • How do seagrass-associated microbes vary across impacted and unimpacted estuaries? • Effects on health or function? Sampling along Shipwreck Coast • 3 Impacted and 3 Unimpacted Estuaries (2 in Corangamite Catchment) • Genetic Sequencing of bacteria and fungi (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 High Predation Low Predation Sequestration (Mg ha yr -1 ) Stocks (g m -2 ) Atwood et al. 2015. Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems. Nature Climate Change

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: 1. An Investigation of Corangamite Farm Dams

Understanding Global Green House Gas Emissions: 1. An Investigation of Corangamite Farm Dams Management Implications Influencing Factors • Fencing or planting • Vegetation • Effluent containment • Nutrients • Sedimentary criteria • Land-use • Sediment qualities

Carbon in the Aire River Estuary 2. 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. Research Outcomes Data Collection • Carbon data and methodology • Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) • Carbon Concentration applicable to the ERF • Compensation for private • Water Depth landholders • Scenario based management

Carbon offsetting opportunities across the 3. 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 Rogers et al. in prep replace intertidal saltmarshes. Global Change Biology

Carbon offsetting opportunities across the 3. Corangamite region Restoration Focus Offset Modeling • Availability • Feasibility General Classification • Cost / Economic Return • Land Type • Current Use Sub-categories • Avoidable Emissions • Carbon Gains Explanatory Variables Blue carbon index

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 www.bluecarbonla lab.o .org

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