Journal article 298 views 38 downloads
Organic carbon accumulation in British saltmarshes
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Lucy C. Miller,
Lucy McMahon,
Bradley Foster,
Natasha L.M. Barlow,
William Blake,
W. Roland Gehrels,
Martin W. Skov,
William E.N. Austin
Science of The Total Environment, Volume: 926, Start page: 172104
Swansea University Author:
Cai Ladd
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© 2024 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172104
Abstract
Saltmarshes are a crucial component of the coastal carbon (C) system and provide a natural climate regulation service through the accumulation and long-term storage of organic carbon (OC) in their soils. These coastal ecosystems are under growing pressure from a changing climate and increasing anthr...
| Published in: | Science of The Total Environment |
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| ISSN: | 0048-9697 |
| Published: |
Elsevier BV
2024
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66238 |
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| Abstract: |
Saltmarshes are a crucial component of the coastal carbon (C) system and provide a natural climate regulation service through the accumulation and long-term storage of organic carbon (OC) in their soils. These coastal ecosystems are under growing pressure from a changing climate and increasing anthropogenic disturbance. To manage and protect these ecosystems for C and to allow their inclusion in emissions and natural-capital accounting, as well as carbon markets, accurate and reliable estimates of OC accumulation are required. However, globally, such data are rare or of varying quality. Here, we quantify sedimentation rates and OC densities for 21 saltmarshes in Great Britain (GB). We estimate that, on average, saltmarshes accumulate OC at a rate of 110.88 ± 43.12 g C m−2 yr−1. This is considerably less than widely applied global saltmarsh averages. It is therefore highly likely that the contribution of northern European saltmarshes to global saltmarsh OC accumulation has been significantly overestimated. Taking account of the climatic, geomorphological, oceanographic, and ecological characteristics of all GB saltmarshes and the areal extent of different saltmarsh zones, we estimate that the 451.65 km2 of GB saltmarsh accumulates 46,563 ± 4353 t of OC annually. These low OC accumulation rates underline the importance of the 5.20 ± 0.65 million tonnes of OC already stored in these vulnerable coastal ecosystems. Going forward the protection and preservation of the existing stores of OC in GB saltmarshes must be a priority for the UK as this will provide climate benefits through avoided emissions several times more significant than the annual accumulation of OC in these ecosystems. |
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| Keywords: |
Coastal; Blue carbon; Wetlands; Radionuclide; Climate; Nature-based solutions |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This research was financially supported by the Natural Environment Research Council funded Carbon Storage in Intertidal Environments (C-SIDE) project (grant NE/R010846/1) with additional support from the Scottish Blue Forum. Radiocarbon dating was supported by the National Environment Isotope Facility Radiocarbon (Environment) Laboratory (allocation 2351.0321). |
| Start Page: |
172104 |