From salt to C; carbon sequestration through ecological restoration at the Dry Creek Salt Field

To reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, countries like Australia that are signatory to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have pledged to undertake efforts to mitigate global warming. The Nationally Determined Contributions set by each country can be achieved by emissions reduction and/or carbon offsetting through market mechanisms. The UNFCCC, and other international conventions, have recognised the role of oceans and coastal wetlands as sinks for GHG. The storage and sequestration of carbon by saltmarsh, mangrove, and seagrass beds is per unit area higher than of any other vegetated habitat, and referred to as blue carbon (Herr et al. 2011; Howard et al. 2017; Nellemann et al. 2009)(Figure 1). For South Australia, blue carbon has been identified as a key carbon offset opportunity. As part of the Climate Action Research Impact Area of the Goyder Institute for Water Research, this project investigated whether tidal reconnection and restoration of the Dry Creek salt fields can be a pathway towards realising blue carbon opportunities for South Australia. The South Australian Government is developing a blue carbon strategy which will include pathways for achieving carbon credits for blue carbon projects.