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0000-0003-1350-4737
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience | Geomorphology and Regolith and Landscape Evolution | Surface Processes | Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing | Land Use and Environmental Planning | Physical geography and environmental geoscience not elsewhere classified | Geomorphology and earth surface processes | Environmental Science and Management not elsewhere classified | Policy and Administration not elsewhere classified | Urban and Regional Planning | Fire ecology | Physical geography and environmental geoscience | Stratigraphy (incl. Biostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy) | Isotope Geochemistry
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Climate Change Adaptation Measures | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Coastal and Estuarine Environments | Coastal and Estuarine Land Management | Climate Change Mitigation Strategies | Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales | Urban Land Policy |
Related Links
Publications
Modelling the response of mangroves and saltmarshes to sea-level rise: model development and validation
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 26-03-2023
DOI: 10.22541/ESSOAR.167979669.98096083/V1
Abstract: Models of the response of mangrove forests and saltmarshes to sea-level rise are needed to inform coastal decision making. Zero-dimensional models that simulate evolution of a point are foundational for developing spatially explicit landscape models projecting coastal wetland extents under future sea-level rise scenarios. However, both zero-dimensional and spatially explicit landscape models have suffered from insufficient calibration and inadequate validation. In this study, a zero-dimensional model framework was parameterised using real data from four sub-sites exhibiting varying rates of mineral and organic matter addition and autocompaction. The model was calibrated to correspond to tidal parameters at each sub-site and validation was undertaken across three timescales to assess model efficacy. Short-term validation encompassed the period over which measurements of surface elevation gain were determined using a network of surface elevation tables (~20 years) medium-term validation encompassed the period when higher resolution colour aerial photography was available (~35 years) and long-term validation focussed on the period of landscape evolution occurring since the mid-Holocene. The model performed well at the medium to long-term scale and was within the range of variability arising from surface elevation table measurements. This study demonstrates the critical need for site-specific data, a crucial component that is undervalued, often insufficiently resourced to generate useful data, and commonly addressed by extrapolating parameters generated from elsewhere. Validation has provided the necessary confidence for further model development at the landscape scale that will account for processes operating both vertically and laterally, such as shoreline erosion and tidal creek extension.
The significance and vulnerability of Australian saltmarshes
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/MF12212
Abstract: We review the distribution, status and ecology of Australian saltmarshes and the mechanisms whereby enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide and associated climate change have influenced and will influence the provision of ecosystem goods and services. Research in temperate and subtropical saltmarsh has demonstrated important trophic contributions to estuarine fisheries, mediated by the synchronised mass-spawning of crabs, which feed predominantly on the C4 saltmarsh grass Sporobolus virginicus and microphytobenthos. Saltmarshes also provide unique feeding and habitat opportunities for several species of threatened microbats and birds, including migratory shorebirds. Saltmarshes increased in extent relative to mangrove in Australia in both tide- and wave-dominated geomorphic settings through the latter Holocene, although historic trends have seen a reversal of this trend. Australian saltmarshes have some capacity to maintain elevation with respect to rising sea level, although in south-eastern Australia, the encroachment of mangrove and, in Tasmania, conversion of shrubland to herbfield in the past half-century are consistent with changes in relative sea level. Modelling of the impacts of projected sea-level rise, incorporating sedimentation and other surface-elevation drivers, suggests that the survival of saltmarsh in developed estuaries will depend on the flexible management of hard structures and other impediments to wetland retreat.
The impacts of river regulation and water diversion on the hydrological drought characteristics in the Lower Murrumbidgee River, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2011
Carbon farming could restore Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/EC13111
Productivity influences trophic structure in a temporally forced aquatic ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-07-2017
DOI: 10.1111/FWB.12963
Surface elevation dynamics in a regenerating mangrove forest at Homebush Bay, Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-2005
Estuaries and coastal wetlands of the southern hemisphere – An overview
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Historical perspectives on the mangroves of Kakadu National Park
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/MF17065
Abstract: Mangroves are a major ecosystem within Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory, providing coastal protection, high bio ersity and an important resource for Aboriginal people. In the late Holocene (from c. 6000 before present), mangroves occupied much of the estuarine and coastal plains, but their range has subsequently contracted to the main river systems (the West Alligator, South Alligator and East Alligator Rivers, and the Wildman River), tributary creeks and offshore islands (Field and Barrow Islands). On the basis of maps of mangrove extent generated from aerial photography (1950, 1975, 1984 and 1991), compact airborne spectrographic imagery (CASI 2002), light detection and ranging (LIDAR 2011) and RapidEye data (2014 onward), changes in net area have been minor but significant redistribution has occurred, with this being attributed to both inland intrusion and seaward colonisation of mangroves. The greatest area changes have been associated with lower-stature mangroves dominated by Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba, as determined from these datasets. Aerial surveys, conducted using a remote piloted aircraft (RPA) and fixed wing aircraft in September 2016, showed dieback of mangroves, with spaceborne RapidEye observations suggesting this occurred between late 2015 and 2016 and at the same time as the extensive mangrove losses reported in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Given the recent dieback and the associated need to better monitor and protect mangroves and proximal ecosystems in the World Heritage- and Ramsar-listed Kakadu National Park, the study recommends the development and implementation of a robust and long-term monitoring system that better utilises existing and ongoing earth observation and ground data, and is supported by a national approach.
Identifying spatial variability and complexity in wetland vegetation using an object-based approach
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 25-07-2016
The geomorphic impact of mangrove encroachment in an Australian salt marsh
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2021
Mangroves give cause for conservation optimism, for now
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
Notes from the field on perspective-indexing constructions
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Date: 15-04-2020
DOI: 10.1075/FOL.27.1
Climate Change Impacts on the Coastal Wetlands of Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-02-2018
Quantifying changes to historic fish habitat extent on north coast NSW floodplains, Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-10-2016
Recent storm boulder deposits on the Beecroft Peninsula, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2005
Contemporary distribution of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in coastal wetlands of south-eastern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Tidal Flats and Salt Marshes
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Date: 13-03-2015
An investigation of the hydrological requirements of River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)Forest,using Classification and Regression Tree modelling
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.1002/ECO.46
Carbon storage in the coastal Swamp Oak Forest Wetlands of Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-10-2022
Wind influence on the orientation of estuarine landforms: An example from Lake Illawarra in southeastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-07-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4459
An Australian blue carbon method to estimate climate change mitigation benefits of coastal wetland restoration
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2022
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13739
Abstract: Restoration of coastal wetlands has the potential to deliver both climate change mitigation, called blue carbon, and adaptation benefits to coastal communities, as well as supporting bio ersity and providing additional ecosystem services. Valuing carbon sequestration may incentivize restoration projects however, it requires development of rigorous methods for quantifying blue carbon sequestered during coastal wetland restoration. We describe the development of a blue carbon accounting model (BlueCAM) used within the Tidal Restoration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems Methodology Determination 2022 of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), which is Australia's voluntary carbon market scheme. The new BlueCAM uses Australian data to estimate abatement from carbon and greenhouse gas sources and sinks arising from coastal wetland restoration (via tidal restoration) and aligns with the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. BlueCAM includes carbon sequestered in soils and biomass and avoided emissions from alternative land uses. A conservative modeled approach was used to provide estimates of abatement (as opposed to on‐ground measurements) and in doing so, this will reduce the costs associated with monitoring and verification for ERF projects and may increase participation in blue carbon projects by Australian landholders. BlueCAM encompasses multiple climate regions and plant communities and therefore may be useful to others outside Australia seeking to value blue carbon benefits from coastal wetland restoration.
Geomorphology as an indicator of the biophysical vulnerability of estuaries to coastal and flood hazards in a changing climate
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-02-2016
Opportunities and challenges for mangrove carbon sequestration in the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-04-2016
Response to Gallagher (2022)—the Australian Tidal Restoration for Blue Carbon method 2022 —conservative, robust, and practical
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-09-2023
DOI: 10.1111/REC.14027
The use of representative species as surrogates for wetland inundation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-03-2012
Chapter 18: Responding to Changing Coasts: The Need for Fixed and Flexible Limits and Boundaries in the Face of Sea-Level Rise
Publisher: Brill | Nijhoff
Date: 2017
Vegetation persistence and carbon storage: Implications for environmental water management for Phragmites australis
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 07-2015
DOI: 10.1002/2014WR016253
Correction to: Coastal flood risk within a peri‑urban area: Sussex Inlet district, SE Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-10-2021
The State of the World's Mangrove Forests: Past, Present, and Future
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Date: 17-10-2019
DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV-ENVIRON-101718-033302
Abstract: Intertidal mangrove forests are a dynamic ecosystem experiencing rapid changes in extent and habitat quality over geological history, today and into the future. Climate and sea level have drastically altered mangrove distribution since their appearance in the geological record ∼75 million years ago (Mya), through to the Holocene. In contrast, contemporary mangrove dynamics are driven primarily by anthropogenic threats, including pollution, overextraction, and conversion to aquaculture and agriculture. Deforestation rates have declined in the past decade, but the future of mangroves is uncertain new deforestation frontiers are opening, particularly in Southeast Asia and West Africa, despite international conservation policies and ambitious global targets for rehabilitation. In addition, geological and climatic processes such as sea-level rise that were important over geological history will continue to influence global mangrove distribution in the future. Recommendations are given to reframe mangrove conservation, with a view to improving the state of mangroves in the future.
Sandy beaches can survive sea-level rise
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-10-2020
Global patterns and drivers of tidal marsh response to accelerating sea-level rise
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 26-04-2021
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-363398/V1
Abstract: The vulnerability of the world’s tidal marshes to sea-level rise threatens their substantial contribution to fisheries, coastal protection, bio ersity conservation and carbon sequestration. Feedbacks between relative sea-level rise (RSLR) and the rate of mineral and organic sediment accumulation in tidal wetlands, and hence elevation gain, have been proposed to ameliorate this risk. Here we report on changes in tidal marsh elevation and shoreline position in relation to our network of 387 fixed benchmarks in tidal marshes on four continents measured for an average of 10 years. During this period RSLR at these marshes reached on average 6.6 mm yr-1, compared to 0.34 mm yr-1 over the past millenia. While the rate of sediment accretion corresponded to RSLR, the loss of elevation to shallow subsidence increased in proportion to the accretion rate. This caused a deficit between elevation gain and RSLR which increased consistently with the rate of RSLR regardless of position within the tidal frame, suggesting that long-term in situ tidal marsh survival is unlikely. While higher tidal range ( m) conferred a greater stability in measures of shoreline change and vegetation cover, other regions showed a tendency towards instability and retreat.
The vulnerability of Indo-Pacific mangrove forests to sea-level rise
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE15538
Abstract: Sea-level rise can threaten the long-term sustainability of coastal communities and valuable ecosystems such as coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves. Mangrove forests have the capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise and to avoid inundation through vertical accretion of sediments, which allows them to maintain wetland soil elevations suitable for plant growth. The Indo-Pacific region holds most of the world's mangrove forests, but sediment delivery in this region is declining, owing to anthropogenic activities such as damming of rivers. This decline is of particular concern because the Indo-Pacific region is expected to have variable, but high, rates of future sea-level rise. Here we analyse recent trends in mangrove surface elevation changes across the Indo-Pacific region using data from a network of surface elevation table instruments. We find that sediment availability can enable mangrove forests to maintain rates of soil-surface elevation gain that match or exceed that of sea-level rise, but for 69 per cent of our study sites the current rate of sea-level rise exceeded the soil surface elevation gain. We also present a model based on our field data, which suggests that mangrove forests at sites with low tidal range and low sediment supply could be submerged as early as 2070.
Assessing the distribution and drivers of mangrove dieback in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
The lunar nodal cycle controls mangrove canopy cover on the Australian continent
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 16-09-2022
Abstract: Long-phase (interannual) tidal cycles have been shown to influence coastal flooding and sedimentation, but their role in shaping the extent and condition of tidal wetlands has received little attention. Here, we show that the 18.61-year lunar nodal cycle, popularly termed the “lunar wobble,” is a dominant control over the expansion and contraction of mangrove canopy cover over much of the Australian continent. Furthermore, the contrasting phasing of the 18.61-year lunar nodal cycle between diurnal and semidiurnal tidal settings has mediated the severity of drought impacts in northern bioregions. Long-phase tidal cycles regulate maximum tide heights, are an important control over mangrove canopy cover, and may influence mangrove ecosystem services including forest productivity and carbon sequestration at regional scales.
Review of the ecosystem service implications of mangrove encroachment into salt marshes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2017
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.13727
Abstract: Salt marsh and mangrove have been recognized as being among the most valuable ecosystem types globally in terms of their supply of ecosystem services and support for human livelihoods. These coastal ecosystems are also susceptible to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels, with evidence of global shifts in the distribution of mangroves, including encroachment into salt marshes. The encroachment of woody mangrove shrubs and trees into herbaceous salt marshes may represent a substantial change in ecosystem structure, although resulting impacts on ecosystem functions and service provisions are largely unknown. In this review, we assess changes in ecosystem services associated with mangrove encroachment. While there is quantitative evidence to suggest that mangrove encroachment may enhance carbon storage and the capacity of a wetland to increase surface elevation in response to sea-level rise, for most services there has been no direct assessment of encroachment impact. On the basis of current understanding of ecosystem structure and function, we theorize that mangrove encroachment may increase nutrient storage and improve storm protection, but cause declines in habitat availability for fauna requiring open vegetation structure (such as migratory birds and foraging bats) as well as the recreational and cultural activities associated with this fauna (e.g., birdwatching and/or hunting). Changes to provisional services such as fisheries productivity and cultural services are likely to be site specific and dependent on the species involved. We discuss the need for explicit experimental testing of the effects of encroachment on ecosystem services in order to address key knowledge gaps, and present an overview of the options available to coastal resource managers during a time of environmental change.
Mangrove dynamics and blue carbon sequestration
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 03-2019
Abstract: We monitored coastal wetland vertical accretion, elevation gain and surface carbon (C) at Homebush Bay, Australia over 18 years (2000–2017) in three settings initially characterized by saltmarsh, mixed saltmarsh–mangrove ecotone and mangrove-dominated zones. During this time, the saltmarsh transitioned to mixed saltmarsh–mangrove ecotone, and the mixed saltmarsh–mangrove ecotone transitioned to mangrove, consistent with vegetation transitions observed across the east Australian continent in recent decades. In spite of mangrove recruitment and thickening in the former saltmarsh zone, and the dominance of mangrove root material as a contributing C source, the rate of C accumulation in the former saltmarsh zone did not change over the study period, and there was no significant increase in surface elevation. This contrasted with the response of sites with a longer history of mangrove colonization, which showed strong accretion and C accumulation over the period. The result suggests that the C accumulation and surface elevation gains made as a result of mangrove colonization may not be observable over initial decades, but will be significant in the longer term as forests reach maturity.
Conceptualizing ecosystem degradation using mangrove forests as a model system
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Surface elevation change and vegetation distribution dynamics in a subtropical coastal wetland
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2014
Impacts and adaptation options for estuarine vegetation in a large city
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Indicator-based assessment of climate-change impacts on coasts: A review of concepts, methodological approaches and vulnerability indices
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Operationalizing marketable blue carbon
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2022
A methodological framework for reconstructing historical delta front morphology: case study at Macquarie rivulet delta within Lake Illawarra, Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-05-2019
Mangrove expansion and salt marsh decline at mangrove poleward limits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-11-2014
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12341
Abstract: Mangroves are species of halophytic intertidal trees and shrubs derived from tropical genera and are likely delimited in latitudinal range by varying sensitivity to cold. There is now sufficient evidence that mangrove species have proliferated at or near their poleward limits on at least five continents over the past half century, at the expense of salt marsh. Avicennia is the most cold-tolerant genus worldwide, and is the subject of most of the observed changes. Avicennia germinans has extended in range along the USA Atlantic coast and expanded into salt marsh as a consequence of lower frost frequency and intensity in the southern USA. The genus has also expanded into salt marsh at its southern limit in Peru, and on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Mangroves of several species have expanded in extent and replaced salt marsh where protected within mangrove reserves in Guangdong Province, China. In south-eastern Australia, the expansion of Avicennia marina into salt marshes is now well documented, and Rhizophora stylosa has extended its range southward, while showing strong population growth within estuaries along its southern limits in northern New South Wales. Avicennia marina has extended its range southwards in South Africa. The changes are consistent with the poleward extension of temperature thresholds coincident with sea-level rise, although the specific mechanism of range extension might be complicated by limitations on dispersal or other factors. The shift from salt marsh to mangrove dominance on subtropical and temperate shorelines has important implications for ecological structure, function, and global change adaptation.
Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 29-07-2022
Abstract: Much uncertainty exists about the vulnerability of valuable tidal marsh ecosystems to relative sea level rise. Previous assessments of resilience to sea level rise, to which marshes can adjust by sediment accretion and elevation gain, revealed contrasting results, depending on contemporary or Holocene geological data. By analyzing globally distributed contemporary data, we found that marsh sediment accretion increases in parity with sea level rise, seemingly confirming previously claimed marsh resilience. However, subsidence of the substrate shows a nonlinear increase with accretion. As a result, marsh elevation gain is constrained in relation to sea level rise, and deficits emerge that are consistent with Holocene observations of tidal marsh vulnerability.
Global Change and the Function and Distribution of Wetlands
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date: 2012
Mapping of mangrove extent and zonation using high and low tide composites of Landsat data
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-06-2017
The Present, Past and Future of Blue Carbon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 08-06-2023
DOI: 10.1017/CFT.2023.17
Sedimentation, elevation and marsh evolution in a southeastern Australian estuary during changing climatic conditions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Intermittent estuaries: linking hydro-geomorphic context to climate change resilience
Publisher: Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Date: 03-03-2016
DOI: 10.2112/SI75-027.1
Inundation characteristics of mangrove and saltmarsh in micro-tidal estuaries
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Coastal wetland rehabilitation first-pass prioritisation for blue carbon and associated co-benefits
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 26-07-2022
DOI: 10.1071/MF22014
Abstract: Context The Australian Government has developed a methodology for payment for carbon services provided by blue carbon ecosystems that focuses on avoided emissions and carbon additionality resulting from tidal restoration of coastal wetlands. Aims This study is a first-pass prioritisation for tidal restoration of coastal wetlands in New South Wales (NSW). Methods A pixel-based approach was applied using readily available datasets, with particular focus on watersheds above in-stream tidal barriers. Key results Many sites were identified, to investigate in detail, opportunities to restore tidal flows to coastal wetlands. More were associated with the broad coastal floodplains of northern NSW than narrower floodplains of southern NSW. Conclusions Information is needed about the location, ownership, land tenure, structure, condition and height of in-stream and over-land flow barriers, particularly in the context of rising sea levels. Decisions about managing in-stream drainage and flood mitigation infrastructure should be made cognisant of opportunities to increase blue carbon, and provide associated co-benefits, including mitigating other deleterious impacts from coastal wetland drainage. Implications Decision support tools for evaluating economic and environmental costs and benefits of tidal barriers will assist decision-makers assessing future proposals to repair or remove aging barriers, or create new tidal barriers.
Reprint of Modelling wetland surface elevation dynamics and its application to forecasting the effects of sea-level rise on estuarine wetlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
Morphogenetic modelling of coastal and estuarine evolution
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Thresholds of mangrove survival under rapid sea level rise
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 05-06-2020
Abstract: The rate of sea level rise has doubled from 1.8 millimeters per year over the 20th century to ∼3.4 millimeters per year in recent years. Saintilan et al. investigated the likely effects of this increasing rate of rise on coastal mangrove forest, a tropical ecosystem of key importance for coastal protection (see the Perspective by Lovelock). They reviewed data on mangrove accretion 10,000 to 7000 years before present, when the rate of sea level rise was even higher than today as a result of glacial ice melt. Their analysis suggests an upper threshold of 7 millimeters per year as the maximum rate of sea level rise associated with mangrove vertical development, beyond which the ecosystem fails to keep up with the change. Under projected rates of sea level rise, they predict that a deficit between accretion and sea level rise is likely to commence in the next 30 years. Science , this issue p. 1118 see also p. 1050
Measuring, mapping and modelling: an integrated approach to the management of mangrove and saltmarsh in the Minnamurra River estuary, southeast Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-06-2012
Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1956
Saline wetland extents and tidal inundation regimes on a micro-tidal coast, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2019
A Validated and Accurate Method for Quantifying and Extrapolating Mangrove Above-Ground Biomass Using LiDAR Data
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 14-07-2021
DOI: 10.3390/RS13142763
Abstract: LiDAR data and derived canopy height models can provide useful information about mangrove tree heights that assist with quantifying mangrove above-ground biomass. This study presents a validated method for quantifying mangrove heights using LiDAR data and calibrating this against plot-based estimates of above-ground biomass. This approach was initially validated for the mangroves of Darwin Harbour, in Northern Australia, which are structurally complex and have high species ersity. Established relationships were then extrapolated to the nearby West Alligator River, which provided the opportunity to quantify biomass at a remote location where intensive fieldwork was limited. Relationships between LiDAR-derived mangrove heights and mean tree height per plot were highly robust for Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora stylosa and Sonneratia alba (r2 = 0.84–0.94, RMSE = 0.03–0.91 m RMSE% = 0.07%–11.27%), and validated well against an independent dataset. Additionally, relationships between the derived canopy height model and field-based estimates of above-ground biomass were also robust and validated (r2 = 0.73–0.90, RMSE = 141.4 kg–1098.58 kg, RMSE% of 22.94–39.31%). Species-specific estimates of tree density per plot were applied in order to align biomass of in idual trees with the resolution of the canopy height model. The total above-ground biomass at Darwin Harbour was estimated at 120 t ha−1 and comparisons with prior estimates of mangrove above-ground biomass confirmed the accuracy of this assessment. To establish whether accurate and validated relationships could be extrapolated elsewhere, the established relationships were applied to a LiDAR-derived canopy height model at nearby West Alligator River. Above-ground biomass derived from extrapolated relationships was estimated at 206 t ha−1, which compared well with prior biomass estimates, confirming that this approach can be extrapolated to remote locations, providing the mangrove forests are biogeographically similar. The validated method presented in this study can be used for reporting mangrove carbon storage under national obligations, and is useful for quantifying carbon within various markets.
Impacts of land reclamation on tidal marsh ‘blue carbon’ stocks
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.03.345
Abstract: Tidal marsh ecosystems are among earth's most efficient natural organic carbon (C) sinks and provide myriad ecosystem services. However, approximately half have been 'reclaimed' - i.e. converted to other land uses - potentially turning them into sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, we applied C stock measurements and paleoanalytical techniques to sediments from reclaimed and intact tidal marshes in southeast Australia. We aimed to assess the impacts of reclamation on: 1) the magnitude of existing sediment C stocks 2) ongoing C sequestration and storage and 3) C quality. Differences in sediment horizon depths (indicated by Itrax-XRF scanning) and ages (indicated by lead-210 and radiocarbon dating) suggest a physical loss of sediments following reclamation, as well as slowing of sediment accumulation rates. Sediments at one meter depth were between ~2000 and ~5300 years older in reclaimed cores compared to intact marsh cores. We estimate a 70% loss of sediment C in reclaimed sites (equal to 73 Mg C ha
Matching research and policy tools to scales of climatechange adaptation in the Murray-Darling, a large Australian river basin: A review
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-12-2013
Use of airborne Lidar to investigate mangrove accommodation space in macrotidal estuaries of northern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Relationships between surface elevation and groundwater in mangrove forests of southeast Australia
Publisher: Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.2112/05-0519.1
Validation and Comparison of a Model of the Effect of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Wetlands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-01-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-19695-2
Abstract: Models are used to project coastal wetland distribution under future sea-level rise scenarios to assist decision-making. Model validation and comparison was used to investigate error and uncertainty in the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model, a readily available model with minimal validation, particularly for wetlands beyond North America. Accurate parameterisation is required to improve the performance of the model, and indeed any spatial model. Consideration of tidal attenuation further enhances model performance, particularly for coastal wetlands located within estuaries along wave-dominated coastlines. The model does not simulate vegetation changes that are known to occur, particularly when sedimentation exceeds rates of sea-level rise resulting in shoreline progradation. Model performance was reasonable over decadal timescales, decreasing as the time-scale of retrospection increased due to compounding of errors. Comparison with other deterministic models showed reasonable agreement by 2100. However, given the uncertainty of the future and the unpredictable nature of coastal wetlands, it is difficult to ascertain which model could be realistic enough to meet its intended purpose. Model validation and comparison are useful for assessing model efficacy and parameterisation, and should be applied before application of any spatially explicit model of coastal wetland response to sea-level rise.
Allochthonous and autochthonous contributions to carbon accumulation and carbon store in southeastern Australian coastal wetlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
Blue carbon in coastal landscapes
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-05-2019
The state of legislation and policy protecting Australia's mangrove and salt marsh and their ecosystem services
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Characterising the impact of tropical cyclones on mangroves using a multi-decadal Landsat archive
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 15-05-2023
DOI: 10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU23-932
Abstract: Tropical cyclones exert a strong driving force for change in mangrove systems. The potential increase in cyclone intensity globally is concerning as this may lead to significant changes in species composition, forest complexity and loss of ecosystem services, including important climate mitigation services. This has implications for the efficacy of blue carbon offsetting in the tropics. There is an urgent need to understand and quantify the effects of cyclones on mangrove ecosystems and the services they provide. The Landsat archive within Digital Earth Australia provides an unprecedented opportunity to quantify cyclone impacts at a national scale and beyond. The aim of this study was to quantify the short- and long-term impacts of Category 3-5 cyclones on mangroves in Australia. This was achieved using wind-field modelling (Geoscience Australia& #8217 s Tropical Cyclone Risk Model) and the Landsat archive to a)& establish the degree of recovery in canopy cover of mangroves following cyclones of different category strength & b)& quantify the differential response on mangroves, accounting for varying cyclone intensity, mangrove& composition, and recovery time since cyclone and c) conceptualise the likely impacts of future cyclones given predictions of future change, including that associated with anthropogenic driven climatic fluctuation. Windspeeds 165-224 km/hr, typical of category 3 cyclones, caused the most widespread damage, suggesting a critical windspeed threshold was exceeded. Patterns of short-term damage reflected location and exposure, with the greatest damage observed along open coastlines and fringing forests. Assessments indicated persistent loss of forests when the impact was high over the short-term. Areas experiencing a minor reduction in cover, and to a lesser extent major reduction in cover, exhibited signs of recovery, but the duration of recovery may be prolonged ( years). Where cyclones were frequent recovery was impeded by subsequent cyclones, and this may lead to a shift in ecosystem type. The approach used Geoscience Australia& #8217 s Open Data Cube and Jupyter Notebooks, which have been published online as open-source code to allow users to repeat the assessments for future cyclones in their area of interest. This is an important feature as Data Cubes are developed and operationalised globally. This analysis demonstrates the utility of Data Cubes for assessing impacts of coastal natural hazards and provides crucial information regarding the long-term resilience of mangroves and their ecosystem services, particularly in the context of a changing climate and variation in cyclone intensity and frequency.
Adam Smith on Wages and Education: Some Policy Implications for India
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-2019
Abstract: This article outlines Adam Smith’s views on wages and education and employs them in providing suggestions for contemporary politics and economic policy. In particular, the joint examination of his concept of ‘subsistence wages’ and his views on education offer a radically different interpretation of Smith to that found in the mainstream literature. Smith’s qualified and nuanced view of wages and education suggests that the market, if left to itself, cannot generate fair wages nor provide inclusive education. Therefore, our contemporary politics and economic policy must incorporate them as central socioeconomic targets.
Modelling wetland surface elevation dynamics and its application to forecasting the effects of sea-level rise on estuarine wetlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2012
Wetland carbon storage controlled by millennial-scale variation in relative sea-level rise
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-019-0951-7
Abstract: Coastal wetlands (mangrove, tidal marsh and seagrass) sustain the highest rates of carbon sequestration per unit area of all natural systems
Cross-cutting research themes for future mangrove forest research
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-10-2022
Modelling the local ecological outcomes of basin scale water planning
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2014
Mangrove Sedimentation and Response to Relative Sea-Level Rise
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Date: 03-01-2016
DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV-MARINE-122414-034025
Abstract: Mangroves occur on upper intertidal shorelines in the tropics and subtropics. Complex hydrodynamic and salinity conditions, related primarily to elevation and hydroperiod, influence mangrove distributions this review considers how these distributions change over time. Accumulation rates of allochthonous and autochthonous sediment, both inorganic and organic, vary between and within different settings. Abundant terrigenous sediment can form dynamic mudbanks, and tides redistribute sediment, contrasting with mangrove peat in sediment-starved carbonate settings. Sediments underlying mangroves sequester carbon but also contain paleoenvironmental records of adjustments to past sea-level changes. Radiometric dating indicates long-term sedimentation, whereas measurements made using surface elevation tables and marker horizons provide shorter perspectives, indicating shallow subsurface processes of root growth and substrate autocompaction. Many tropical deltas also experience deep subsidence, which augments relative sea-level rise. The persistence of mangroves implies an ability to cope with moderately high rates of relative sea-level rise. However, many human pressures threaten mangroves, resulting in a continuing decline in their extent throughout the tropics. *
Temperate coastal wetland near-surface carbon storage: Spatial patterns and variability
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Improving mangrove above-ground biomass estimates using LiDAR
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
A framework for modelling the risks of climate‐change impacts on Australian coasts
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-10-2014
Coastal wetland substrate elevation is dynamically related to accommodation space and influenced by sea-level rise
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 04-03-2021
DOI: 10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU21-14069
Abstract: & & The resilience of coastal wetlands in the fate of sea-level rise is proposed to be related to the combined influence of changes in substrate organic matter volume, mineral sediment volume, auto-compaction of accumulating material and deep subsidence however, relatively few studies have measured all of these variables. In addition, there is ongoing debate about the suitability of this data for modelling the behaviour of coastal wetlands under anticipated sea-level rise projections as temporal discrepancies in the elevation response of coastal wetlands derived from observational and stratigraphic records exist. To resolve these issues, data derived from a range of techniques sensitive to changes occurring at annual, decadal and century timescales, is presented in the context of available accommodation space, that is, the space in which tidally-borne material can accumulate. Focussing on an embayment in Victoria, Australia, analyses confirm that at annual-decadal timescales, organic matter behaves like a sponge, compressing as the overburden of material accumulates, resulting in auto-compaction that modulates the degree of surface elevation change that occurs as tidally-borne material accumulates. These processes operate concurrently and are influenced by sediment availability, yet vary on the basis of available accommodation space. At longer timescales, the influence of auto-compaction diminishes as organic matter has undergone significant compression and decomposition, yet accumulated material remains proportional to available accommodation space. These analyses confirm that temporal discrepancies in rates of substrate elevation change can be resolved by accounting for the timescale over which processes operate and the influence of sea-level rise on available accommodation space. Accordingly, models should dynamically consider rates of surface elevation change relative to available accommodation space.& &
Moving from deterministic towards probabilistic coastal hazard and risk assessment: Development of a modelling framework and application to Narrabeen Beach, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Widespread retreat of coastal habitat is likely at warming levels above 1.5 °C
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-08-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-023-06448-Z
Abstract: Several coastal ecosystems—most notably mangroves and tidal marshes—exhibit biogenic feedbacks that are facilitating adjustment to relative sea-level rise (RSLR), including the sequestration of carbon and the trapping of mineral sediment 1 . The stability of reef-top habitats under RSLR is similarly linked to reef-derived sediment accumulation and the vertical accretion of protective coral reefs 2 . The persistence of these ecosystems under high rates of RSLR is contested 3 . Here we show that the probability of vertical adjustment to RSLR inferred from palaeo-stratigraphic observations aligns with contemporary in situ survey measurements. A deficit between tidal marsh and mangrove adjustment and RSLR is likely at 4 mm yr −1 and highly likely at 7 mm yr −1 of RSLR. As rates of RSLR exceed 7 mm yr −1 , the probability that reef islands destabilize through increased shoreline erosion and wave over-topping increases. Increased global warming from 1.5 °C to 2.0 °C would double the area of mapped tidal marsh exposed to 4 mm yr −1 of RSLR by between 2080 and 2100. With 3 °C of warming, nearly all the world’s mangrove forests and coral reef islands and almost 40% of mapped tidal marshes are estimated to be exposed to RSLR of at least 7 mm yr −1 . Meeting the Paris agreement targets would minimize disruption to coastal ecosystems.
Processes influencing autocompaction modulate coastal wetland surface elevation adjustment with sea-level rise
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 21-07-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2021.694039
Abstract: The fate of coastal wetlands and their ecosystem services is dependent upon maintaining substrate elevations within a tidal frame that is influenced by sea-level rise. Development and application of morphodynamic models has been limited as few empirical studies have measured the contribution of key processes to surface elevation change, including mineral and organic matter addition, autocompaction of accumulating sediments and deep subsidence. Accordingly, many models presume that substrates are in equilibrium with relative sea-level rise (RSLR) and the composition of substrates are relatively homogenous. A 20-year record of surface elevation change and vertical accretion from a large tidal embayment in Australia coupled with analyses of inundation frequency and the character of sediments that have accumulated above mean sea level was analyzed to investigate processes influencing surface elevation adjustment. This study confirms the varying contribution of addition, decomposition and compression of organic material, and mineral sediment consolidation. Autocompaction of substrates was proportional to the overburden of accumulating sediments. These processes operate concurrently and are influenced by sediment supply and deposition. Vertical accretion was linearly related to accommodation space. Surface elevation change was related to vertical accretion and substrate organic matter, indicated by carbon storage above mean sea level. Surface elevation change also conformed to models that initially increase and then decrease as accommodation space diminishes. Rates of surface elevation change were largely found to be in equilibrium with sea-level rise measured at the nearest tide gauge, which was estimated at 3.5 mm y –1 over the period of measurements. As creation of new accommodation space with sea-level rise is contrary to the longer-term history of relative sea-level stability in Australia since the mid-Holocene, striking stratigraphic variation arises with deeper sediments dominated by mineral sands and surficial sediments increasingly fine grained and having higher carbon storage. As the sediment character of substrates was found to influence rates of surface elevation gain, we caution against the unqualified use of models derived from the northern hemisphere where substrates have continuously adjusted to sea-level rise and sediment character is likely to be more homogenous.
Moving from Generalisations to Specificity about Mangrove –Saltmarsh Dynamics
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-08-2019
Mangrove sinkholes ( cenotes ) of the Yucatan Peninsula, a global hotspot of carbon sequestration
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-2021
Abstract: Mangroves are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems on the planet. The capacity of mangroves to store and accumulate carbon has been assessed and reported at regional, national and global scales. However, small-scale s ling is still revealing ‘hot spots’ of carbon accumulation. This study reports one of these hotspots, with one of the largest-recorded carbon stocks in mangroves associated with sinkholes ( cenotes ) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. We assessed soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, sequestration rates and carbon origin of deep peat soils (1 to 6 m) . We found massive amounts of SOC up to 2792 Mg C ha −1 , the highest value reported in the literature so far. This SOC is primarily derived from highly preserved mangrove roots and has changed little since its deposition, which started over 3220 years ago (±30 BP). Most cenotes are owned by Mayan communities and are threatened by increased tourism and the resulting extraction and pollution of groundwater. These hot spots of carbon sequestration, albeit small in area, require adequate protection and could provide valuable financial opportunities through carbon-offsetting mechanisms and other payments for ecosystem services.
An integrative salt marsh conceptual framework for global comparisons
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-07-2023
DOI: 10.1002/LOL2.10346
Abstract: Salt marshes occur globally across climatic and coastal settings, providing key linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, salt marsh science lacks a unifying conceptual framework consequently, historically well‐studied locations have been used as normative benchmarks. To allow for more effective comparisons across the ersity of salt marshes, we developed an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework. We review ecosystem‐relevant drivers from global to local spatial scales, integrate these multi‐scale settings into a framework, and provide guidance on applying the framework using specific variables on 11 global ex les. Overall, this framework allows for appropriate comparison of study sites by accounting for global, coastal, inter‐, and intra‐system spatial settings unique to each salt marsh. We anticipate that incorporating this framework into salt marsh science will provide a mechanism to critically evaluate research questions and a foundation for effective quantitative studies that deepen our understanding of salt marsh function across spatial scales.
The influences of climate and hydrology on population dynamics of waterbirds in the lower Murrumbidgee River floodplains in Southeast Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2011
Coastal flood risk within a peri-urban area: Sussex Inlet district, SE Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-07-2021
The Shifting Saltmarsh-Mangrove Ecotone in Australasia and the Americas
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2019
Accommodation space as a framework for assessing the response of mangroves to relative sea-level rise
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/SJTG.12357
Managed Retreat of Saline Coastal Wetlands
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-07-2014
Spatial variation of above-ground carbon storage in temperate coastal wetlands
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Australian forested wetlands under climate change: collapse or proliferation?
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 09-11-2021
DOI: 10.1071/MF21233
Abstract: Climatically driven perturbations (e.g. intense drought, fire, sea surface temperature rise) can bring ecosystems that are already stressed by long-term climate change and other anthropogenic impacts to a point of collapse. Recent reviews of the responses of Australian ecosystems to climate change and associated stressors have suggested widespread ecosystem collapse is occurring across multiple biomes. Two commonly cited case studies concern forested wetland ecosystems: mangrove forest dieback in northern Australia (2015–16) and riverine forest dieback in the south-east of the continent (2002–09). We present an alternative interpretation that emphasises the dominant signal of climate change effects, rather than the interdecadal signal of climate variability that drives wetland forest dynamics. For both the south-east Australian riverine forests and mangroves of northern Australia, aerial extent remains greater after dieback than in the early 1990s. We interpret dieback and defoliation in both systems as a dry phase response and provide evidence of a current and near-future climate change trajectory of increased areal extent and cover (i.e. tree colonisation and range infilling). In both case studies, climate change-driven increases in tree cover and extent are occurring at the expense of wetland grasslands and the important ecosystem functions they support.
Spatial Variation in Carbon Storage: A Case Study for Currambene Creek, NSW, Australia
Publisher: Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Date: 03-03-2016
DOI: 10.2112/SI75-260.1
Vegetation change and surface elevation dynamics in estuarine wetlands of southeast Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2006
Facile synthesis of mono-disperse sub-20 nm NaY(WO4)2:Er3+,Yb3+ upconversion nanoparticles: a new choice for nanothermometry
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1039/C8TC05669B
Abstract: The morphology of NaY(WO 4 ) 2 :Er,Yb nanoparticles and the thermal sensitive upconversion luminous (UCL) mechanism correspond to temperature sensing behavior.
Terrestrial laser scanning to quantify above-ground biomass of structurally complex coastal wetland vegetation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
The extent of mangrove change and potential for recovery following severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-10-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.4485
Woody plant encroachment of grasslands: A comparison of terrestrial and wetland settings
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-11-2015
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.13147
Abstract: A global trend of woody plant encroachment of terrestrial grasslands is co‐incident with woody plant encroachment of wetland in freshwater and saline intertidal settings. There are several arguments for considering tree encroachment of wetlands in the context of woody shrub encroachment of grassland biomes. In both cases, delimitation of woody shrubs at regional scales is set by temperature thresholds for poleward extent, and by aridity within temperature limits. Latitudinal expansion has been observed for terrestrial woody shrubs and mangroves, following recent warming, but most expansion and thickening has been due to the occupation of previously water‐limited grassland/saltmarsh environments. Increases in atmospheric CO 2 , may facilitate the recruitment of trees in terrestrial and wetland settings. Improved water relations, a mechanism that would predict higher soil moisture in grasslands and saltmarshes, and also an enhanced capacity to survive arid conditions, reinforces local mechanisms of change. The expansion of woody shrubs and mangroves provides a negative feedback on elevated atmospheric CO 2 by increasing carbon sequestration in grassland and saltmarsh, and is a significant carbon sink globally. These broad‐scale vegetation shifts may represent a new stable state, reinforced by positive feedbacks between global change drivers and endogenic mechanisms of persistence in the landscape.
Materials Design and Optimization for Next-Generation Solar Cell and Light-Emitting Technologies
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-05-2021
Response of Salt Marsh and Mangrove Wetlands to Changes in Atmospheric CO2, Climate, and Sea Level
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date: 2012
Pervasive effects of Wolbachia on host activity
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-2021
Abstract: Heritable symbionts have erse effects on the physiology, reproduction and fitness of their hosts. Maternally transmitted Wolbachia are one of the most common endosymbionts in nature, infecting about half of all insect species. We test the hypothesis that Wolbachia alter host behaviour by assessing the effects of 14 different Wolbachia strains on the locomotor activity of nine Drosophila host species. We find that Wolbachia alter the activity of six different host genotypes, including all hosts in our assay infected with w Ri-like Wolbachia strains ( w Ri, w Suz and w Aur), which have rapidly spread among Drosophila species in about the last 14 000 years. While Wolbachia effects on host activity were common, the direction of these effects varied unpredictably and sometimes depended on host sex. We hypothesize that the prominent effects of w Ri-like Wolbachia may be explained by patterns of Wolbachia titre and localization within host somatic tissues, particularly in the central nervous system. Our findings support the view that Wolbachia have wide-ranging effects on host behaviour. The fitness consequences of these behavioural modifications are important for understanding the evolution of host–symbiont interactions, including how Wolbachia spread within host populations.
Redating the earliest evidence of the mid-Holocene relative sea-level highstand in Australia and implications for global sea-level rise
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-07-2019
Modelling the local ecological outcomes of basin scale water planning
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2014
Coastal wetland surface elevation change is dynamically related to accommodation space and influenced by sedimentation and sea-level rise over decadal timescales
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 15-03-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2022.807588
Abstract: The fate of mangroves and saltmarshes under conditions of accelerating sea-level rise is dependent upon sedimentation and surface elevation gain that is sufficient to maintain substrate positions within a shifting tidal frame. This study focuses on coastal wetlands fringing Westernport Bay, a large tidal embayment of southeastern Australia where mangroves occupy lower tidal positions than saltmarshes. Estimates of vertical accretion, surface elevation change, and autocompaction derived from a 20-year record of observations were integrated with estimates of sedimentation at the decadal to century time-scale derived from 210 Pb chronology to model the relationship between surface elevation gain and accommodation space at timescales relevant to management and decision-making. This model was validated against records of shoreline changes extracted from time-series aerial photography. Sedimentation and surface elevation gain vary spatially on the basis of available accommodation space and sediment supply, which are influenced by hydrodynamic conditions within the bay. Since sea-level rise increases available accommodation space, these relationships provided the means to project the outcome of accelerating sea-level rise on equilibrium accommodation space of mangroves and saltmarshes. Sea-level rise will generally deepen substrate positions within the tidal frame, creating conditions favorable for mangrove forests. Where sediment supply is high, maintenance (and some progradation) of mangrove shorelines may occur under projected low rates of sea-level rise these conditions are limited to shorelines near sedimentary basins and where there is considerable lateral accommodation space. The same fate is not likely under a high sea-level rise scenario where shoreline retreat is projected in all settings. Given the limited accommodation space within saltmarshes at Westernport Bay, sedimentation will not be sufficient to maintain tidal positions and landward retreat will be critical for maintenance of saltmarsh bio ersity. This will require planning decisions to facilitate tidal incursions and conserve retreat pathways.
An Eco-Morphodynamic Modelling Approach to Estuarine Hydrodynamics & Wetlands in Response to Sea-Level Rise
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 06-05-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2022.860910
Abstract: Tidal inundation is the primary driver of intertidal wetland functioning and will be affected by sea- level rise (SLR). The morphology of estuaries and friction across intertidal surfaces influences tidal propagation accordingly, sea-level rise not only increases inundation frequency, but will also alter other tidal parameters, such as tidal range. To investigate responses of estuarine intertidal vegetation, primarily mangrove and saltmarsh, to SLR an eco-morphodynamic modelling approach was developed that accounted for some of the feedbacks between tidal inundation and changes to wetland substrate elevations. This model partially accounts for adjustment in estuarine hydrodynamics, and was used to examine the potential effect of SLR on mangrove and saltmarsh distribution in a micro-tidal channelised infilled barrier estuary in southeast Australia. The modelling approach combines a depth-averaged hydrodynamic model (Telemac2D) and an empirical wetland elevation model (WEM) that were coupled dynamically to allow for eco-geomorphological feedbacks. The integrated model was parameterised to consider two SLR scenarios, and two accretion scenarios within the WEM. Time series of observed water levels, tidal inundation and flow velocity were used to validate the hydrodynamic model for present-day sea level, whereas wetland mapping was used to verify predictions of mangrove and saltmarsh distribution. Tidal range varied along the estuary, increasing in response to low and high SLR scenarios (by up to 8%), and responded non-linearly under high SLR. Simulations of low and high SLR scenarios indicated that wetlands mostly withstand modest SLR rates (+ 5mm yr -1 ) through sedimentation, but submerge and convert to subtidal areas under fast SLR rates (& 10mm yr -1 ). Projected changes in tidal range are linked to eco-geomorphological feedbacks caused by changing wetland extents and adjustments of intertidal wetland geomorphology through sedimentation. Potential changes arising from morphological change at the entrance and in the tidal channels is not obtained from the model. The results of this study demonstrate interconnections between hydrodynamics and intertidal wetlands, which need to be accounted for when estimating wetland response to SLR in channelised estuaries. Integrated models of estuarine-wetland systems are more precise as they account for the dynamic feedbacks between hydrodynamics and wetlands. For ex le, they also consider alterations to tidal range resulting from SLR and the effects of these on wetland inundation and sedimentation.
Harnessing the temporal and projective attributes of human agency to promote anticipatory climate change adaptation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-06-2022
DOI: 10.1002/EET.2009
Abstract: Human agency is seen as a critical component of adaptive capacity concerning environmental change. This capacity may entail social actor's ability to learn from past experience, and create opportunities in the present for dealing with uncertainty and change in the future. However, it also means that actors need to be able to overturn structural barriers that impede anticipatory adaptation to climate change such as lack of political leadership, power imbalances, acceptance of climate risks and willingness to act. While scholarship around questions of structural barriers is common in environmental studies literature, there is less understanding about how future thinking could help to strengthen human agency. Harnessing the temporal and projective attributes of human agency by which social actors can exert influence over the future and create solutions may comprise a promising way forward. This paper investigates how social actors understand past social and environmental change and explores how scenario planning may help actors apply their understanding of changes over time to devise policies for climate change adaptation. The paper applies this exploratory lens to an Australian coastal local government area engaged in scenario planning and adaptation pathways planning. Findings indicate that the temporality aspect of agency applied to solving complex issues and overcoming structural barriers manifests differently from an in idual to a collective perspective. This means that while scenario planning and adaptation pathways planning helps with anticipatory identification and experimentation, this may not be sufficient to overturn structural barriers to adaptation in the short‐term.
Carbon storage in coastal wetlands is related to elevation and how it changes over time
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2022
Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-03-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECM.1248
An argument for probabilistic coastal hazard assessment: Retrospective examination of practice in New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2014
People and coastal ecosystems adapt to relative sea-level rise
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-10-2023
Application of thresholds of potential concern and limits of acceptable change in the condition assessment of a significant wetland
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-04-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S10661-013-3197-0
Abstract: We propose a framework in which thresholds of potential concern (TPCs) and limits of acceptable change (LACs) are used in concert in the assessment of wetland condition and vulnerability and apply the framework in a case study. The lower Murrumbidgee River floodplain (the 'Lowbidgee') is one of the most ecologically important wetlands in Australia and the focus of intense management intervention by State and Federal government agencies. We used a targeted management stakeholder workshop to identify key values that contribute to the ecological significance of the Lowbidgee floodplain, and identified LACs that, if crossed, would signify the loss of significance. We then used conceptual models linking the condition of these values (wetland vegetation communities, waterbirds, fish species and the endangered southern bell frog) to measurable threat indicators, for which we defined a management goal and a TPC. We applied this framework to data collected across 70 wetland storages', or eco-hydrological units, at the peak of a prolonged drought (2008) and following extensive re-flooding (2010). At the suggestion of water and wetland mangers, we neither aggregated nor integrated indices but reported separately in a series of chloropleth maps. The resulting assessment clearly identified the effect of rewetting in restoring indicators within TPC in most cases, for most storages. The scale of assessment was useful in informing the targeted and timely management intervention and provided a context for retaining and utilising monitoring information in an adaptive management context.
Planning for current and future needs of mangroves and their accommodation space. Response to Ken Krauss and Catherine Lovelock.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/SJTG.12362
Mangrove encroachment of salt marsh in Western Port Bay, Victoria: The role of sedimentation, subsidence, and sea level rise
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2005
DOI: 10.1007/BF02696066
Australian mangroves through the Holocene
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2021
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