Spatial Points

Seagrass forms an incredibly important ecosystem worldwide, providing a wide range of functions. However, as with many other lifeforms, their health has been threatened by human advancements.

Significant declines of seagrass meadows extent (up to a third of meadows along the Adelaide Metropolitan Coastline) leading up to the early 2000s, has been due to poor waste- and storm-water quality. Significant work has been done to improve water quality being released into the coast, showing significant regrowth over the past 20 years. Assessing the effectiveness of seagrass regeneration requires fast and accurate feedback data. This has been significantly enhanced with the use of up-and-coming monitoring techniques.

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What are blue carbon ecosystems and why are they important?

Mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrasses are referred to as blue carbon ecosystems. They are ‘mega’ carbon storers, at 6 to 8 Mg per hectare. This increased carbon storage is where blue carbon ecosystems get their name! When these ecosystems are degraded, much of this carbon is lost and cycled back into the atmosphere and water. Carbon sequestration and conservation of carbon stores can significantly control global warming, and so lots of current research on these ecosystems is focused on how to protect them from degradation. We do this through monitoring possible impacts upon blue carbon systems and we work hard to produce strategies to protect them. This has the added benefit of informing market evaluations of carbon storage. So, the more precise our monitoring, the higher the value of the ecosystem!

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