Australian Rivers Institute

Are forests really the carbon sink we need?

Evidence is building to suggest that our forests may not be the climate change ‘get out jail free’ card we all want.

Australian Rivers Institute’s Assoc. Prof. Peter Pollard has researched rainforest lakes and rivers to test a provocative theory. The respiration of bacteria living and ‘breathing’ in these freshwater ecosystems is a major pathway for the return of rainforest carbon back to the atmosphere as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Read the full article →

Wake-up call for waterways

The health of southeast Queensland’s rivers, creeks and catchment areas are under scrutiny with the release of the 2009 Ecosystem Health Report Card.

This year, Moreton Bay received the lowest ecosystem health rating (D) in more than a decade. Prof. Jon Olley, from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, said the report card results were a wake-up call for Moreton Bay and southeast Queensland.

Read the full article →