Deakin University’s Blue Carbon Lab offers innovative research solutions for helping to mitigate climate change and improve natural capital, while also contributing to jobs, economic growth, capacity building and community wellbeing.  

The Blue Carbon Labs’ in-house expertise spans ecology, biogeochemistry, microbiology, environmental economics, modeling and mapping/remote sensing. 

Blue Carbon Lab - Deakin University

Coastal wetlands, which include seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, saltmarshes and supratidal forests, are incredibly valuable for human and ecosystem health. 

When these habitats are lost, it can be difficult for vegetation to return, because the environmental conditions of the area may have changed and are no longer suitable for new plants to grow. To facilitate the return of coastal wetland species, sometimes a more active approach to restoration is needed.

The Regenerating Our Coast program with our community partners is trialling one such active restoration method. We are using biodegradable structures made of potato starch to help stabilise the soil and provide a sturdy foundation for plants to establish. We hope to see the wetland plant seeds and seedlings grow and flourish over time, while the structures will degrade into organic components so that they do not remain in the environment when they are no longer needed.

At Sandy Point, we have planted the threatened grey mangrove, Avicennia marina, within and without the structures to test the efficacy of our method. We also planted mangrove seedlings in single and clustered formations to see if this affects survival.

Ultimately restoration coastal wetlands will enhance the vital services they provide, including supporting biodiversity, filtering pollutants, sequestering and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (called Blue Carbon) and protecting our coastlines from erosion and storms.

Sandy Point wetland revegetation

Historically natural coastal wetlands were converted to pastureland to maximize available farming areas along Victoria’s coast. However, these coastal pastures limited the profitability of the land due to the difficult growing conditions, invasive weeds and waterlogged soils.

Our project intends to use low-cost fencing to restore marginal farmland back to coastal wetlands, where farmers end up with an environmental asset that benefits them and the wider community. 

Restoring saltmarsh habitat not only helps increase the diversity of vegetation, but it also provides suitable habitat for many threatened and endangered fauna including the orange-bellied parrot, growling grass frog, resident and migratory shorebirds (listed as in fair condition with a declining trend in the 2016 State of the Bay report). A healthy functioning saltmarsh provides many other ecosystem services, including storing carbon from the atmosphere, reducing nitrogen loads into the bay, protecting our coastlines and enhancing recreational fisheries. 

Blue Carbon Lab - Deakin University

Victoria

2 chronologs managed by Blue Carbon Lab - Deakin University

Sandy Point wetland revegetation

Swan Bay wetland restoration

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