Seaford Swamp near Melbourne wasn't always a freshwater site

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-08-21 00:01

Australia; VIC

orderinchaos via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-3.0)

Efforts to conserve the Seaford Wetlands near Frankston, Victoria, should consider that the region has been vastly different from its natural state for many decades, according to Australian research. The team collected sediment cores to analyse the history of the wetlands, and found evidence that it used to receive saltwater inflow from the sea, before European settlement in the late 19th century blocked much of this flow, with agriculture and then urban settlement ultimately transforming the wetlands into the freshwater site it is today. The wetlands are part of the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Ramsar Site, and the researchers say they have been recognised as internationally important, but their official recognition does not necessarily reflect their original state - raising questions around what it will mean to conserve the wetlands under sea level rise.

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Research CSIRO Publishing, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: Marine and Freshwater Research

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Federation University Australia, La Trobe University

Funder: This project was funded by the Frankston City Council under a contract to Diatoma.

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