Protecting Australian high-country peaty soils by hydrological manipulation

The peaty soils of Australia's high country are vital to ensuring future water security but are under threat from multiple factors. This project aims to produce the knowledge required to safeguard peaty soils in Australia's high country by using a multi-disciplinary approach combining vegetation function with the measurement of fluxes and storage pools of carbon and water, enhancing outputs from new infrastructure. Importantly, this project will assess how well subalpine peaty soils can be protected through relatively simple interventions. Expected outcomes include an enhanced ability to predict the resilience of the vital water-storage and filtration services provided by these systems as well as intervention options for improving these.