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Brad Henderson commenced his PhD at WRL in 2019 examining "Optimising coastal floodplains for environmental services and agriculture".Ìý

Tidal restoration projects on Australia’s coastal floodplains have primarily been undertaken to address an environmental issue, such as improving water quality or providing habitat for endangered species by reverting farmland to intertidal wetlands. These projects have not only been successful in addressing the environmental issue, but the benefits of the restored wetlands extend well beyond the project area through the ecosystem services they provide. Understanding the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services in intertidal wetlands will highlight the potential in our coastal floodplains.Ìý

Brad Henderson’s PhD research focuses on predicting possible restored wetland types and extent across coastal floodplains, based on hydrological and ecological conditions, to evaluate environmental and economic costs/benefits. The research also investigates the impacts of restoration and sea level rise on agriculture as well as future farming practices, including carbon farming. Understanding the benefits and impacts for potential land use options will assist decision-makers in optimising coastal floodplain use for both restoration and agriculture. This project is supported by Hunter Local Land Services and MidCoast Council.

Supervisor:ÌýProfessor William Glamore