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Wetland increase has multiple benefits
New research from James Cook University shows mangroves are doing a lot of the heavy lifting in storing carbon and their importance may increase as climate change impacts increase.
Dr Nathan Waltham from JCU’s Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER) was part of the study that used a machine learning approach to get a better idea of how much ‘soil organic carbon’ (SOC) is stored in coastal wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchments.
“We found the mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes in the region store 137 million tonnes of carbon in their soils, or about 9-13 per cent of Australia’s total SOC stock while encompassing only 4–6 per cent of the total extent of Australian coastal wetlands.
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Subscriber only A new James Cook University marine science scholar will gain a unique opportunity to engage with the port industry across the Great Barrier Reef. Through a ground-breaking environment partnership between North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation and JCU, Amy Cantrill has received the first Bachelor of Science scholarship from the $5 million partnership to help safeguard the reef. Miss Cantrill will study science relevant to applied management in the port industry. Amy Cantrill has received the first Bachelor of Science scholarship from a $5 million partnership between North Queensland Bulk Ports and James Cook University to help safeguard the reef. Picture: James Cook University. She is pictured with Dr Nathan Waltham from JCU s TropWATER program. Picture: James Cook University