Ecological restoration of a severely degraded coastal acid sulfate soil: A case study of the East Trinity wetland, Queensland

Abstract

A severely degraded acid sulfate soil wetland near Cairns, Queensland, has been returned to a functional estuarine habitat using a cost-effective, low-technology method based on the reintroduction of tidal water. Gradual increases in tidal inundation, combined with targeted liming of the tidal stream, restored conditions that promoted chemical and microbial processes leading to the rapid recolonisation of mangrove communities and other estuarine flora and fauna. Protocols and understanding developed at East Trinity can be readily applied to other coastal acid sulfate soil sites.