Abstract
Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here, we present organic carbon (C) storage in VCE across Australian climate regions and estimate potential annual CO2 emission benefits of VCE conservation and restoration. Australia contributes 5–11% of the C stored in VCE globally (70–185 Tg C in aboveground biomass, and 1,055–1,540 Tg C in the upper 1 m of soils). Potential CO2 emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1–3.1 Tg CO2-e yr-1, increasing annual CO2 emissions from land use change in Australia by 12–21%. This assessment, the most comprehensive for any nation to-date, demonstrates the potential of conservation and restoration of VCE to underpin national policy development for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Highlights
Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources
Destruction and degradation of natural ecosystems accounts for 12–20% of the CO2 released into the atmosphere globally[1]. Despite their relatively small global extent, vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE), tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses, contribute ~50% of C sequestered in marine sediments[2], with their organic carbon (C) sequestration rates exceeding those of terrestrial forests, per unit area, by 1–2 orders of magnitude[3]
The extent, geographic distribution and type of VCE determine the distribution of C stocks and sequestration rates over the continent (Fig. 1)
Summary
Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Rehabilitation, we estimate that the restoration of an area equivalent to 10% of historic losses of VCE extent in Australia (5730 km2) would enhance soil C sequestration by 1.15 ± 0.91 Tg CO2-e year−1 (mean ± SD; Table 3), reducing annual emissions from land use change in Australia by 6–8%.
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