Wetlands revealed as giant carbon dioxide bank
VICTORIA’S inland wetlands store the annual carbon emissions of 185,000 people — roughly the population of Geelong — Deakin researchers have found.
The study, aimed at helping to increase understanding of how the environment regulates greenhouse gas emissions, found the wetlands are locking away three million tons of CO2 each year.
Lead researcher Dr Paul Carnell, from Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences’ Blue Carbon Lab, said freshwater wetlands could hold 20 to 40 times more carbon than forests on dry land.
“Because these wetlands are anoxic (contain little oxygen), it’s hard for the carbon in this material to be broken down and re-released into the atmosphere,” he said.
“It’s the reverse process of digging up and burning coal or oil — here wetlands are taking that gas and putting it back into the ground.”
Victoria has about 530,000 hectares of inland wetlands, which researchers estimate has a soil carbon stock of 68 million tonnes.
Head of Blue Carbon Lab, Associate Professor Peter Macreadie, said the new study es- timated that since European settlement, the loss of wetlands in Victoria had released up to 74 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents, equal to the emissions of 16 million cars over one year.
“Now we know what (the wetlands) are worth, hopefully that will inspire governments to invest in their protection and rehabilitation,” Prof Macreadie said.