Collaboration key to restoring seagrass meadows
Seagrass researchers, marine ecologists, commercial operators and First Nations groups are looking at ways to collaborate and learn from each other to help restore seagrass meadows within the Great Barrier Reef - using seagrass nursery infrastructure.
CQUniversity’s Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) recently led a forum in conjunction with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Gidarjil Development Corporation and Blue Praxis to showcase the research currently underway at the Centre in seagrass restoration, including their SeaGrow nursery design and development, and to share ideas with other organisations working in the fields of seagrass restoration and blue carbon.
Director of CMERC Professor Emma Jackson said the forum brought together like-minded organisations to develop a collaborative approach to seagrass restoration in the region.
“CQUniversity has been working on seagrass restoration for about 10 years now and as part of that process we have developed seagrass nurseries to help with restoration projects, in particular seabed restoration,” she explained.
“During the forum we got together with other groups that are also looking at seagrass restoration from across the Great Barrier Reef, including Traditional Owners from six different areas, researchers from other universities, natural resource managers and some commercial operators, with the goal of developing and expanding seagrass nurseries to help support seagrass restoration for the Great Barrier Reef.”
Professor Jackson said the collaboration with these groups was key to establishing a bank of knowledge and experience in seagrass nurseries and restoration in the region.
Transcript
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So CQUniversity have been looking at seagrass restoration for about 10 years now and as part of that process we've been developing the idea of seagrass nurseries. So ways in which we can create like propagules and material that we can do restoration projects with in particular seed bed restoration and today we're actually getting together other people that are looking at seagrass restoration from across the Great Barrier Reef and it includes traditional owners from about five different um areas we've got um researchers from other universities like JCU and Deacon University and also some of the natural resource managers and also some commercial operators everybody looking at ways in which we can develop and expand seagrass nurseries to help support seagrass restoration for the Great Barrier Reef. We're developing seagrass nurseries for a very particular species in a very particular area, We've got three or four different nurseries now and through running those different nurseries we just see even working on the same species the differences both in terms of the locations that we're planting to but the same species doing slightly different things so across the Great Barrier Reef we've got 15 different species different environments different people different partnerships so actually bringing everyone together to learn from each other um about those different environments but also pick up some of the work that we've been doing and developing seagrass nurseries and applying it to their own situations is going to be really critical. Without events like this uh it would be so hard to invest and be associated with excellent seagrass restoration opportunities so events like today are fantastic opportunities to network to meet other traditional owner groups from up and down the Great Barrier Reef catchment to really get together and brainstorm the different challenges and opportunities that are occurring in seagrass restoration up and down the reef. Seagrass restoration is something that I've learned about recently and I can't believe that it just hasn't been done sooner so if we could get a series of seagrass nurseries up and down the Great Barrier Reef catchment this will provide a huge opportunity for coastal restoration uh opportunities as well as sustainably led traditional owner uh investments and businesses so without seagrass nurseries there it would be so hard to to scale up and restore the reef at the rate that she needs to be restored at. Yeah they have a a list of what we call ecosystem services that as long as my arm so the the main one that people hear about a lot is blue carbon so this this um workshop on the last day of this workshop we're also looking at how blue carbon fits into the picture of seagrass restoration how seagrass restoration could be used as a method for trapping blue carbon so what's blue carbon it's basically where material um carbon um both from the seagrass meadow itself and from other areas gets trapped by the seagrasses into the sediment and held long term and that's important because it draws carbon dioxide out of our atmosphere and helps to offset um climate change and global warming but at the same time they can also be very good um in terms of fish habitat so they create a really good nursery ground for juvenile fish and shrimps and prawns and crabs they're also foraging grounds for some of those species um they also trap a lot of fine sediment and nutrients so they're almost like the kidneys of the Great Barrier Reef stopping all those finds and nutrients getting out into the reef and causing damage to the reef. The other one that's um caused people's hearts is that they're also direct food for dugongs and turtles so protecting the seagrass we get less strandings and die offs and diebacks for the for the green turtle and the dugong then but the biggest driver of seagrass losses across the Great Barrier Reef is more the more frequent and intense storms that we're having and flood events so flood events bring sediment off the land which cause you know trap stop light getting to the sear grasses and then that drops onto the seagrasses and bury it so and then severe storms can actually just rip up the seagrasses so a cyclone going through a meadow at Pioneer Bay can like rip up most of the seagrass that ended up in people's gardens and in the trees and things like that so can be really quite severe so the idea is to go back and basally help them bounce back so help them enhance their recovery.
CMERC has three major seagrass projects currently underway: SeaGrow in Gladstone, a partnership with the Gidarjil Development Corporation and supported by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and The Coles Group; a partnership with the Reef Catchment and the Ngaro people for an Airlie Beach project funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation; and the Woppaburra TUMRA and partners the Konomie Island Environmental Education Centre where CMERC acts as a research and education resource.
Professor Jackson said seagrass plays an integral role in the health of the Great Barrier Reef.
“Seagrasses have a list of what we call ecosystem services. Two that are grabbing people’s attention at the moment are blue carbon and fish habitat provision.
“As part of the forum we hosted staff from Blue Praxis, who provided a Blue Carbon discovery session.
“Seagrasses can trap carbon in the sediment and hold it long term, which is important as it draws carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and helps to offset climate change and global warming.
“Seagrasses are also vital fish and crustacean habitat, and foraging grounds for these species. They trap a lot of fine sediment and nutrients and are often regarded as the kidneys of the Great Barrier Reef.
“They are also a direct food source for dugongs and turtles, so by protecting the seagrass we get less strandings and die offs of dugong and turtles.”
Great Barrier Reef Foundation Blue Carbon Project Manager Dr Ingrid Suter said the Great Barrier Reef was home to the largest seagrass ecosystem on the planet at more than 4.5 million hectares.
She said it was an important nursery and food source for endangered species like the turtle and dugong, but also had another critical job – mitigating climate change by storing more than 400 million tonnes of carbon.
“However, as the climate continues to change, more severe and frequent storm and flood events are impacting the Reef’s seagrass meadows.
“Through the largest seagrass restoration project on the Great Barrier Reef, we’re creating a blueprint for a partnership model that will support Traditional Owner groups across the Great Barrier Reef to be at the forefront of seagrass restoration and provide a sustainable legacy into the future through emerging nature-repair markets.”
Gidarjil Development Corporation Sea Ranger, Markeeta Sullivan said: “For me, it’s about restoring the seagrass meadows by bringing back the dugongs, turtles, fish and crustacean habitats and creating a healthier harbour for our next generation, and generations to come.
“I am hoping there will be more mob working on Country with the same vision that I have.”
