THE IMPORTANCE OF BLUE

CARBON TO THE MANAGEMENT

OF AUSTRALIAS COASTAL
ECOSYSTEMS

Quinn Ollivier
www.bluecarbonlab.org
Lets 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 CO2 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.
Blue 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

High capacity 0 100 200 300

Carbon burial rate (g C m-2 yr-1)
Dont 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 Corg ha-1
Blue Carbon Stocks 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%
 Integrated over the depth profile of 10cm

Blue Carbon Stocks in CCMA 6

Hot Spots & Loss

%Corg DW
4

60% loss of Corangamite saltmarsh since

2
European settlement. (Boon & Sinclair 2012)
0
an nd ds nd ing ek 1 2 3 1 2 iffe nd es nd
Sw e Isla Islan g Isla Land s Cre Nor th Nor th Nor th South South edcl g Isla th Tre s Isla

Based on current 30cm stocks, ~ > 212,000 Bl a

ck
B oyn
Ch
annel
Fa
Fis
ci n
her
ns

Pe
a m n ks n ks n k
ma Grah n Ba n Ba n Ba n Ban n Ban
s

lica elica elica elica elica

P P P P
ks ks

So
R
uth
Fac in
S ou
Wi
gg i n

tonnes Corg lost Site

778,000 tonnes CO2 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
6 The Narrows
2.5
(%)
carbon (%)

5
Carbon

region
2.0
Middle Harbour

d15N
Northern Pelican Banks
Organic

1.5
Organic

Southern Harbour

1.0 Southern Pelican Banks

3
The Narrows
y = 0.0238x + 0.1032
0.5 R = 0.8541 Northern Banks
2
0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
26 24 22 20 18
MudMud
Content
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
0m
Chemical Stability

1
Proportion of organic carbon

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5 Refractory
0.4 Recalcitrant
0.3 Labile
0.2 7,840 years!
0.1
0
0 5 25 50 80
3.5 m
Sediment depth (cm)

Macreadie et al. in prep

 Seagrass Health and Their
Microbes
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

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

Atwood et al. 2015. Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems. Nature Climate Change
 What would better management look like?

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant 2016-19: Optimal management of coastal ecosystems for blue carbon sequestration.
Partners: TNC, DELWP (State Government), Parks Victoria
1. 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
Influencing Factors Management Implications
Vegetation Fencing or planting
Nutrients Effluent containment
Land-use Sedimentary criteria
Sediment qualities
2. Carbon in the Aire River Estuary

Map of the Aire River Estuary under varying flooding scenarios, taken from the Aire
River Estuary Management Plan (2015).
2. Carbon in the Aire River Estuary
Data Collection Research Outcomes
Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) Carbon data and methodology
Carbon Concentration applicable to the ERF
Water Depth Compensation for private
landholders
Scenario based management
3. 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
Rogers et al. in prep replace intertidal saltmarshes. Global Change Biology
3. Carbon offsetting opportunities across the
Corangamite region
Restoration Focus
Availability Offset Modeling
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.

www.bluecarbonlab.org 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