Coastal Blue Carbon Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief (2017) / Chapter Skim
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Coastal Blue Carbon Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Coastal Blue Carbon Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
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This Proceedings of a Workshop -- in Brief summarizes the presentations from both the webinar and workshop. INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL BLUE CARBON AND COASTAL WETLAND RESTORATION Coastal wetlands -- salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses -- have been identified as having the greatest CDR capacity of all coastal ecosystems, as explained by Jennifer Howard from Conservation International during the introductory webinar.
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Given what is known about the carbon storage potential of each ecosystem and the existing policy and governance frameworks for climate mitigation, Howard concluded that coastal wetlands should be a primary focus for climate mitigation efforts in coastal areas. Wetland management, specifically wetland restoration and conservation, affects coastal wetland CDR capacity.
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APPROACHES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CAPACITY AND FLUX OF COASTAL BLUE CARBON The committee's workshop started with a session exploring the scientific underpinning for understanding coastal wetland CDR capacity. Some methodologies for evaluating the carbon storage capacity and flux in salt marshes are relatively well developed, said Patrick Megonigal of the Smithsonian Ecological Research Center.
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There is a large variation in measurements of seagrass carbon stocks and sequestration rates; potential sources of variability include plant species, plant density, nutrient availability, meadow size, wave exposure, and substrate type. Simpson has worked at eelgrass meadows along the Massachusetts coast and she stated that her samples affirm that although there is variability across sample sites, eelgrass bed sediment cores do have higher carbon densities than surrounding unvegetated areas.
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Because the emission rate is not much lower than the gross carbon sequestration rate, Twilley explained that a more accurate understanding of the carbon exchange occurring between mangroves and estuaries is needed in order to quantify the size of the mangrove carbon sink. Sediment supply plays a role in the survival of wetlands and thus their ability to accumulate carbon, as shown by Twilley's research on the impact of Mississippi River management on carbon storage in delta wetlands.7 A comparison of the carbon storage in two basins -- one receiving river sediment input and one where the connection to the river has been restricted -- provides evidence that maintaining riverine sediment delivery to the delta improves wetland carbon storage capacity.
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The total estimated wetland area in the continental United States, determined through remote sensing and field surveys, is about 1.9 million ha of salt marsh, 0.3 million ha of mangroves, and 2.3 million ha of seagrasses. However, Windham-Myers noted that an accurate map of coastal wetlands with CDR potential would be improved with better identification of which wetlands are within the extent of tidal influence and, specifically, identification of where wetlands are affected by sea-level rise.
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Much of the wetland soil accretion is from organic carbon stored in plant biomass, with the rigid lignin fibers of the vegetation (which makes up about 10% of the plant) acting as the prominent long-term biomass storage.
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ECONOMIC CONTEXT OF COASTAL BLUE CARBON APPROACHES Steve Crooks from Silvestrum Associates addressed the requirements for developing commercial and policy incentives for managing coastal wetlands for CDR. Crooks pointed out that the most significant climate mitigation opportunity for coastal wetlands is the avoidance of carbon emissions by preventing their loss, erosion, or drainage.
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According to Crooks, scientific needs for improving the capability to finance wetland carbon sequestration projects include developing better maps of wetland extent and conversion, modeling relationships between productivity and carbon sequestration in mangroves, projecting the response to climate change along the coasts, tracking the fate of carbon exported from wetlands, quantifying methane emissions, and improving understanding of seagrass and kelp ecosystems. The value of coastal wetlands is enhanced by their range of ecosystem services, as stated by Katie Arkema from Stanford University.
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He noted that highlighting coastal wetlands' role in infrastructure planning, such as in flood risk reduction, is an opportunity for increasing the acceptance of wetland conservation and restoration. His work is focused on the Houston area, where urban development is rapid and will continue to be a cause of wetland loss.
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However, he said that there are limitations to the degree which local governments will be able or willing to interfere with private property rights, economic development, resource availability, and other local political issues. In order to predict the influence local policies will have on national coastal CDR potential, Pippin recommended research to develop typologies, or classifications, of local entities and their priorities (e.g., revenue streams)
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2017. Coastal Blue Carbon Approaches for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration: Proceedings of a Workshop -- in Brief.
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