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Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration

Lucy McMahon, Cai Ladd Orcid Logo, Annette Burden, Ed Garrett, Kelly R. Redeker, Peter Lawrence, Roland Gehrels

Frontiers in Marine Science, Volume: 10

Swansea University Author: Cai Ladd Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3389/fmars.2023.1106607

Abstract

Political discourse around coastal wetland restoration and blue carbon management strategies has increased in the past decade, yet carbon storage has neither been a reason for restoration, nor a criterion to measure the success of current saltmarsh restoration schemes in the UK. To maximise climate...

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Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
ISSN: 2296-7745
Published: Frontiers Media SA 2023
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64474
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We use restored saltmarshes of similar age, paired with adjacent natural marshes as references, to identify drivers of carbon stocks following managed realignment within an estuary in southeastern England. From surficial soil cores (top 30 cm), we measured carbon stock alongside environmental characteristics. Carbon stock between natural and restored sites were similar after ~ 30 years when restored sites were above mean high water neap (MHWN) tidal levels. Elevated marsh platforms likely provide suitable conditions for the development of mature plant communities associated with greater capture and production of organic carbon. The restored site at Tollesbury (Essex, UK) had a 2-fold lower carbon stock than other restored sites in the estuary. We attribute this to the site&#x2019;s low position in the tidal frame, below MHWN tidal levels, coupled with low sediment supply and the dominance of pioneer plant communities. 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spelling 2023-10-09T16:09:49.2839725 v2 64474 2023-09-08 Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462 0000-0001-5437-6474 Cai Ladd Cai Ladd true false 2023-09-08 BGPS Political discourse around coastal wetland restoration and blue carbon management strategies has increased in the past decade, yet carbon storage has neither been a reason for restoration, nor a criterion to measure the success of current saltmarsh restoration schemes in the UK. To maximise climate change mitigation through saltmarsh restoration, knowledge on the key drivers of carbon stock variability is required. We use restored saltmarshes of similar age, paired with adjacent natural marshes as references, to identify drivers of carbon stocks following managed realignment within an estuary in southeastern England. From surficial soil cores (top 30 cm), we measured carbon stock alongside environmental characteristics. Carbon stock between natural and restored sites were similar after ~ 30 years when restored sites were above mean high water neap (MHWN) tidal levels. Elevated marsh platforms likely provide suitable conditions for the development of mature plant communities associated with greater capture and production of organic carbon. The restored site at Tollesbury (Essex, UK) had a 2-fold lower carbon stock than other restored sites in the estuary. We attribute this to the site’s low position in the tidal frame, below MHWN tidal levels, coupled with low sediment supply and the dominance of pioneer plant communities. As blue carbon is anticipated to become an important facet of saltmarsh restoration, we recommend that sites above MHWN tidal levels are selected for managed realignment or that preference is given to coastlines with a high sediment supply that may rapidly elevate realignment sites above MHWN. Alternatively, elevation could be artificially raised prior to realignment. Restoration schemes aiming to maximise climate change mitigation should also encourage the establishment of key plant species (e.g., Atriplex portulacoides in our study) to enhance carbon stocks. However, the overall goal of restoration ought to be carefully considered as trade-offs in ecosystem services may ensue if restoration for climate change mitigation alone is pursued. Journal Article Frontiers in Marine Science 10 Frontiers Media SA 2296-7745 Blue carbon, saltmarsh habitat, ecosystem restoration, relative tidal height, vegetation zonation 30 3 2023 2023-03-30 10.3389/fmars.2023.1106607 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1106607 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University This research forms part of an Adapting to the Challenges of a Changing Environment (ACCE) Doctoral Training Partnership funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) (NE/L002450/1). CL, AB and RG were funded by NERC grant NE/R010846/1 (Carbon Storage in Intertidal Environments; C-SIDE). NE/L002450/1, NE/R010846/1 2023-10-09T16:09:49.2839725 2023-09-08T09:57:54.2272621 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Lucy McMahon 1 Cai Ladd 0000-0001-5437-6474 2 Annette Burden 3 Ed Garrett 4 Kelly R. Redeker 5 Peter Lawrence 6 Roland Gehrels 7 64474__28571__2e030b25aef543288e0a2af0450ac5e5.pdf 64474.pdf 2023-09-19T09:52:15.5708673 Output 2550949 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2023 McMahon, Ladd, Burden, Garrett, Redeker, Lawrence and Gehrels. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0). false eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
spellingShingle Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
Cai Ladd
title_short Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
title_full Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
title_fullStr Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
title_full_unstemmed Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
title_sort Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration
author_id_str_mv 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462
author_id_fullname_str_mv 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462_***_Cai Ladd
author Cai Ladd
author2 Lucy McMahon
Cai Ladd
Annette Burden
Ed Garrett
Kelly R. Redeker
Peter Lawrence
Roland Gehrels
format Journal article
container_title Frontiers in Marine Science
container_volume 10
publishDate 2023
institution Swansea University
issn 2296-7745
doi_str_mv 10.3389/fmars.2023.1106607
publisher Frontiers Media SA
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography
url http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1106607
document_store_str 1
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description Political discourse around coastal wetland restoration and blue carbon management strategies has increased in the past decade, yet carbon storage has neither been a reason for restoration, nor a criterion to measure the success of current saltmarsh restoration schemes in the UK. To maximise climate change mitigation through saltmarsh restoration, knowledge on the key drivers of carbon stock variability is required. We use restored saltmarshes of similar age, paired with adjacent natural marshes as references, to identify drivers of carbon stocks following managed realignment within an estuary in southeastern England. From surficial soil cores (top 30 cm), we measured carbon stock alongside environmental characteristics. Carbon stock between natural and restored sites were similar after ~ 30 years when restored sites were above mean high water neap (MHWN) tidal levels. Elevated marsh platforms likely provide suitable conditions for the development of mature plant communities associated with greater capture and production of organic carbon. The restored site at Tollesbury (Essex, UK) had a 2-fold lower carbon stock than other restored sites in the estuary. We attribute this to the site’s low position in the tidal frame, below MHWN tidal levels, coupled with low sediment supply and the dominance of pioneer plant communities. As blue carbon is anticipated to become an important facet of saltmarsh restoration, we recommend that sites above MHWN tidal levels are selected for managed realignment or that preference is given to coastlines with a high sediment supply that may rapidly elevate realignment sites above MHWN. Alternatively, elevation could be artificially raised prior to realignment. Restoration schemes aiming to maximise climate change mitigation should also encourage the establishment of key plant species (e.g., Atriplex portulacoides in our study) to enhance carbon stocks. However, the overall goal of restoration ought to be carefully considered as trade-offs in ecosystem services may ensue if restoration for climate change mitigation alone is pursued.
published_date 2023-03-30T20:24:58Z
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