Monitoring of seagrass along the western bank of Torrens Island, commenced by Estuary Care Foundation volunteers in 2017, is continuing through Friends of the Port River.
ECF/Friends volunteers went to Torrens Island on January 31st, February 8th and February 22nd to check on the seagrass and its recovery from a heat wave that coincided with low tides in February 2023.
Unfortunately in March 2024 (8th to 11th) there was a four day heatwave that also coincided with low tides in the middle of the day e.g. 0.12m around 12.25pm on Saturday 9th, that had a further adverse impact on the seagrass.
ECF/Friends volunteers visited Torrens island on March 24th and provided this summary. While there was no obvious seagrass at Lipsons South, and south (except below water) and north of the Quarantine Station jetty there was some low cut seagrass north of our marker posts at Lipsons Central plus some obvious seagrass in the distance there and some seagrass at Lipsons North.
When daytime low tides return later in 2024 (approx October) Friends volunteers will return to check on recovery from the latest heatwave.
ECF/Friends are delighted to support Dr Alice Jones, University of Adelaide in her successful bid for a Green Adelaide Blue Carbon Futures Grant that will continue research on Torrens Island as to how seagrass cover corresponds with soil carbon, to better understand the relationships between vegetation and blue carbon dynamics, including potential time lags related to the recovery of an ecosystem’s carbon storage function. The research will also investigate options for enhancing intertidal seagrass and mangrove ecosystem recovery in the Port River using biodegradable structures.
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