A recent study suggests that restoring coastal vegetation, or so-called "blue carbon" ecosystems, may not be the natural climate answer that is often touted.
Researchers refute the commonly held belief that restoring ecosystems including mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass may significantly reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
Blue carbon habitats for carbon removal
(Photo : Benjamin L. Jones/Unsplash)
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA), the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation challenge the commonly held belief that restoring habitats like mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass can remove significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in their analysis.
The results of their analysis, which were released today in the journal Frontiers in Climate, include seven factors that make carbon accounting for coastal ecosystems dangerous as well as highly difficult.
The significant variability in carbon burial rates, sensitivity to future climate change, and methane and nitrous oxide flows are a few of these.
The authors, who also examined data on restoration costs, caution that further precautions can lessen these risks.
However, they emphasize that blue carbon ecosystems should still be preserved and, when practical, rehabilitated, since they are helpful for biodiversity preservation, climate adaption, and coastal protection.
We have examined the carbon removal mechanisms, but there are just too many unknowns, according to lead scientist Dr. Phil Williamson, honorary reader at UEA's School of Environmental Sciences.
Although the restoration of the blue carbon ecosystem may result in the anticipated climatic benefits, it appears more probable that they will be woefully underwhelming.
Rich in organic carbon that has been gathered and stored over many hundreds of years are the sediments that lie under mangrove forests, tidal saltmarshes, and seagrass meadows.
The potential for these coastal blue carbon ecosystems to contribute to a natural climate solution has been positively identified in numerous recent studies and reviews in two ways: through conservation, which lowers greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the loss and degradation of such habitats, and through restoration, which increases carbon dioxide drawdown and its long-term storage.
In evaluating the viability of attaining measurable and secure carbon removal (negative emissions) by the restoration of coastal vegetation, this new assessment concentrates on the latter.
If we heavily rely on these ecosystems to offset our carbon emissions with the expectation that they will remove up to, say, 100 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide between 2025-2100 but instead discover that they only remove 10, or perhaps even just one gigatonne of CO2, then Dr. Williamson warned that climate tipping points could be crossed with very serious repercussions.
However, assuming other methods are employed for climate mitigation, it would be a bonus if such ecosystems were restored to maintain biodiversity and we discovered they also removed many gigatonnes of CO2.
Therefore, restoration should be done in addition to near-total emission reductions, not in instead of them.
Read more: Carbon Dioxide and Mangroves: Equivalent to Removing Cars From Road
Blue Carbon
The phrase "blue carbon" simply refers to the carbon that the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems have stored, as per NOAA.
You've probably heard that carbon dioxide, which includes atmospheric carbon, is emitted (or given off) by human activity.
Additionally, you may have heard that these gases are adversely affecting the climate of the entire planet.
What you may not know is that the sequestration (or absorption) of carbon by our oceans and coasts offers a natural solution to lessen the effect of greenhouse gases on our climate.
Along our coast, seagrasses, mangroves, and salt marshes "capture and retain" carbon, functioning as what is referred to as a carbon sink.
Despite being far smaller than the planet's forests, these coastal systems may trap this carbon at a much higher rate and for millions of years.
The majority of the carbon absorbed by these ecosystems is kept underground, out of sight, yet it is still there.
The preservation of coastal habitat is crucial to the wider picture of blue carbon.
A significant quantity of carbon is released back into the atmosphere when these systems are disrupted, which can contribute to climate change.
Therefore, a smart strategy to slow climate change is to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems.
The restoration procedure improves the environment and the financial health of the community doing it when there is less pollution to tax.
Related article: Experts Question the Reliability of Blue Carbon in Restoring Coastal Vegetation
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