Dr Jeff Kelleway
University of Wollongong
Dr Jeff Kelleway is a Senior Research Fellow in the Environmental Futures Research Centre, University of Wollongong. His interdisciplinary research—spanning ecology, geomorphology, and biogeochemistry—focuses on the ecosystem function of coastal wetlands and their role in ‘blue carbon’ sequestration. He investigates mangrove, saltmarsh, and supratidal forest ecosystems, quantifying carbon dynamics, greenhouse gas fluxes, and wetland responses to sea-level rise, fire impact and management interventions.
Dr Kelleway’s research informs restoration and management practices across Australia’s coasts, advising policy and carbon accounting frameworks. Dr Kelleway’s recent contributions include advancing continental-scale mapping of supratidal forest ecosystems and contributing to the development of Australia’s first blue carbon ‘method’ under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme. He collaborates with the NSW Government on research projects that seek to understand the response of coastal wetlands following ‘Black Summer’ fires and investigating opportunities to maximise blue carbon sequestration under sea-level rise.
Beyond the Mangroves and Marshes: the diverse world of tidal forested wetlands
Nov 4 | Tuesday
There is increasing awareness of the global diversity of tidal forested wetlands (TFWs). These ecosystems encompass mangrove forests, tidal freshwater forested wetlands, supratidal forests and transitional forests, which together span tropical to temperate climatic zones and occur across diverse geomorphic, inundation and salinity regimes. Intertidal mangroves are the best-defined of the TFWs thanks to decades of research on their geomorphology, hydrology and ecology across their broad distribution. Non-mangrove TFW settings, however, demonstrate diverse hydrological, biochemical and vegetation conditions. In many cases, non-mangrove TFWs are situated at upper intertidal or supratidal elevations, where surface waters and groundwater are subject to interactions between astronomic tides, meteorological tidal anomalies, and freshwater inputs. Salinity datasets, where available, show variations ranging from tidal freshwater forested wetlands and ‘low-salinity mangroves’ to mesohaline or marine salinities, often with high temporal variability. Case studies across five continents will be used to demonstrate the state of knowledge among TFWs and identify commonalities and differences among settings.
Growing evidence of carbon sequestration service values can help motivate arrest and reversal of contemporary and extensive historic losses of TFW, as exemplified by the case of other blue carbon ecosystem. However, significant knowledge gaps need to be addressed, including broader characterisation of the provisioning, cultural and regulatory services of these ecosystems, and their response to sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion. Innovative mapping approaches are also required to address challenges associated with the diverse floristic composition of non-mangrove TFWs at global scales, and their distribution beyond the tidal niche into non-tidal wetland and upland forests. Continued collaboration across diverse settings, and the incorporation of non-mangrove TFWs into mangrove and blue carbon initiatives, however, presents new opportunities for improved outcomes for all TFWs across local to global scales.