Deception Bay Wetlands Restoration
Improving ecological habitat and saltmarsh health and climate adaptation capacity in Deception Bay.
Saltmarsh natives are being suffocated by invasive weeds.
Healthy Land & Water’s Deception Bay Wetlands Restoration Project is meant to improve the habitat quality and integrity of the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland.
The project aims to remove weeds from 5 ha of Saltmarsh/Casuarina Woodland at Deception Bay Wetlands, adjacent to the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland.
The site is a significant Reserve and wetland where weeds compete with saltmarsh plants for space and sunlight.
Their removal will increase the health of the saltmarsh and its capacity to adapt to climate change-induced sea level rise.
What we are doing
Deception Bay saltmarsh
With the changing climate threatening our coastal ecosystems, this project is aimed at increasing saltmarsh capacity to adapt to climate change-induced sea level rise.
The process of re-establishing the saltmarsh ecosystem and strengthening it includes:
- Removal of weeds across 5 ha of Saltmarsh/Casuarina Woodland at Deception Bay Wetlands, adjacent to the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland.
- Improvement of habitat quality and integrity.
- Enhancement of feeding and roosting sites for birds.
- Improved and increased saltmarsh health.
- Increased saltmarsh capacity to adapt to climate change-induced sea level rise.
- Reduced fire impact by removing fire-prone species.
- Improvement of endemic species’ recruitment.
Measuring success
- Improving the ecological functioning of this important habitat adjacent to the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland.
- Targeting weed control along the Ramsar site buffer zone of the Deception Bay Conservation Park.
Why this project is important
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The Deception Bay Conservation Park is a significant Reserve part of the Moreton Bay Ramsar Site and is approximately 178 hectares of mangrove, saltmarsh, salt plains (mudflats), and Casuarina communities. Weeds compete with saltmarsh plants for space and sunlight. Their removal will increase the health of the saltmarsh and its capacity to adapt to climate change-induced sea level rise. In addition, it will ensure endemic species associated with the target area are not shaded out and subjected to higher fire temperatures. Enhancing the area is also crucial to maintaining a healthy reserve, which has been identified as a key habitat for the shorebirds of Moreton Bay. |
Project snapshot
| Project name: | Deception Bay Wetlands Restoration Project |
| Project manager: | Chelsea Kluske, Senior Scientist |
| Catchment: | Deception Bay |
| Timing: | July 2022 – June 2023 (Completed) |
| Budget: | $25,000 |
| Partnerships: |
This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. This project is being delivered in partnership with Redcliffe Environmental Forum. |
| Related Articles: |
What's next
There is huge potential to build on the successful work.
Project collaborators
This project forms part of the Redcliffe Environmental Forum's ongoing work to protect and restore our precious saltmarsh.