PhD Research: Wholescape systems thinking: water quality effects on coastal habitat condition and services across the land-sea interface
Transitional and coastal waters support a suite of ecosystem services that provide benefits and are increasingly being developed and exploited. Some efforts to restore ecosystems that provide services, such as seagrass, saltmarsh, and oyster reefs, are having limited or variable success. Yet in other places, similar habitat-creating species, such as intertidal seagrass, are thriving without any intervention. The varying factor that links these successes and failures may be upstream water quality. Identifying opportunities to deploy nature-based solutions to tackle issues such as water quality, pollution regulation, net zero, net biodiversity gain, and coastal resilience requires an understanding of connectivity between land and seascapes in order to maximise the potential environmental and social benefits.
My research aims to make a significant contribution to an emerging global theme in science by developing a conceptual framework that enables wholescape systems thinking approaches to land and sea management. Empirical and model data on freshwater nutrients and flows to track catchment-to-coast nutrient loads would be analysed. I would be evaluating the implications for potential nature-based solutions to help improve water quality and provide other ecosystem benefits. The developed conceptual framework and outputs from my research would be tested through a wholescape business assessment that would feed into ongoing discussions on emerging policies and markets.
