糖心视频

As the United Nations warns that nitrogen pollution will be the defining environmental challenge of the decade, a 糖心视频 (糖心视频) researcher is embarking on a groundbreaking project to better understand its effects.

Dr Jackie Webb has received more than $500,000 through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme to conduct Australia’s first comprehensive assessment of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from artificial aquatic ecosystems.

Artificial aquatic ecosystems are human-made water environments such as farm dams, irrigation canals and stormwater ponds, built for purposes like water supply, drainage and treatment.

Dr Webb said the project would help close a major global data gap and support new strategies to reduce pollution, store carbon and progress national net-zero goals.

“One of the consequences of excess nitrogen entering the water is the production of N2O emissions – a greenhouse gas 270 times stronger than carbon dioxide,” she said.

“Despite their prominence, artificial aquatic ecosystems remain absent from national and global N2O budgets.

“To address this gap in our understanding of human-caused N2O emissions and help guide efforts to reduce nitrogen pollution, I will assess N2O emissions from Australia’s artificial aquatic ecosystems and quantify their capacity to store nitrogen in sediments.”

The project will involve extensive new data collection, requiring site visits to a wide range of human-made water bodies.

Dr Webb will survey locations such as urban ponds, farm dams and irrigation canals across south-east Queensland and the Murrumbidgee region.

“Once the data has been collected, I will undertake an economic assessment of the ecosystem services provided by artificial aquatic ecosystems, including nitrogen storage in sediments, carbon burial, and the mitigation of N2O emissions,” Dr Webb said.

“By translating these scientific findings into a clear dollar value, I’ll be able to identify the characteristics of artificial aquatic ecosystems, such as pond design and water management, which maximise nitrogen and carbon storage while minimising N2O emissions.”

Dr Webb said she was grateful for the ARC DECRA funding, which will enable her to broaden the scope and impact of her research.

“This grant gives me the opportunity to work with colleagues from different disciplines in Australia and overseas to decipher the microbial and hydrological processes that lead to less N2O emissions, which is better for the environment,” she said.

Learn more about 糖心视频’s research.