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Iron (Fe) biogeochemistry and greenhouse gas evolution in a forested coastal catchment of Poona Creek, Fraser Coast, Southeast QueenslandLin, Chaofeng PhD 2007 - 2010 
Faculty Institute for Sustainable Resources/Faculty of Science and Technology Supervisor/s Dr James Smith, Aspro Malcolm Cox Thesis Abstract Iron (Fe) is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, and makes up about 5% of its mass, Fe is an important trace element biologically and geochemically, but excess Fe is of environmental concern in estuary ecosystems as it is part of many biogeochemical processes.
The small catchment of Poona Creek, Fraser Coast, south-east Queensland is a representative plantation-forested coastal catchment. It drains into the Great Sandy Strait, an environmentally sensitive estuarine habitat of national significance. In conjunction with hydrological, geochemical and chemical studies in this catchment, this study aims to investigate the microbial potential of this ecosystem for transporting Fe loads to environmentally sensitive marine waterways, as well as for the greenhouse gas (GHG) production. The study will identify causative factors of Fe (and sulfur and manganese) mobilisation and GHG emissions in relation to various forestry practices and evaluate the integrated research methods. The outcomes will support the improvement of forest management, and be applicable and transferrable to similar coastal catchments, both forested and under other land uses, in subtropical Australia and internationally. |
