Carbon emissions from Australian Sphagnum peatlands increase with feral horse (Equus caballus) presence.

Peatlands are globally significant carbon sinks, but when disturbed, have the potential to release carbon back to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Feral horse populations in the Australian Alps degrade Sphagnum peatlands, which are highly sensitive to disturbance. However, the link between this degradation and peatland carbon cycling is not understood.

An agricultural practise with climate and food security benefits: "Claying" with kaolinitic clay subsoil decreased soil carbon priming and mineralisation in sandy cropping soils.

As the agricultural sector seeks to feed a growing global population, climate-smart agriculture offers opportunities to concurrently mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and/or increasing carbon storage in soils. This study examined the potential for clay addition to reduce CO emissions from plant residues and soil organic matter in a sandy soil. Soils were sourced from a 15-year-old field trial where claying (200 t ha) had already demonstrated improvements in water infiltration, grain yield and profits.

Effects of distance from canal and degradation history on peat bulk density in a degraded tropical peatland.

Over recent decades, the combination of deforestation, peat drainage and fires have resulted in widespread degradation of Southeast Asia's tropical peatlands. These disturbances are generally thought to increase peat soil bulk density through peat drying and shrinkage, compaction, and consolidation. Biological oxidation and fires burning across these landscapes also consume surface peat, exposing older peat strata.

Fire in Australian savannas: from leaf to landscape.

Savanna ecosystems comprise 22% of the global terrestrial surface and 25% of Australia (almost 1.9 million km2) and provide significant ecosystem services through carbon and water cycles and the maintenance of biodiversity. The current structure, composition and distribution of Australian savannas have coevolved with fire, yet remain driven by the dynamic constraints of their bioclimatic niche.

Occasional large emissions of nitrous oxide and methane observed in stormwater biofiltration systems.

Designed, green infrastructures are becoming a customary feature of the urban landscape. Sustainable technologies for stormwater management, and biofilters in particular, are increasingly used to reduce stormwater runoff volumes and peaks as well as improve the water quality of runoff discharged into urban water bodies. Although a lot of research has been devoted to these technologies, their effect in terms of greenhouse gas fluxes in urban areas has not been yet investigated.