Abstract
Wetlands play a vital role in Earth's carbon cycle and provide important ecosystem services. Their ability to perform their roles can be compromised by human activities that destroy or impair their functioning. The restoration of degraded wetlands may allow carbon cycle functioning, as well as other services, to be recovered. Predicting the potential outcomes from any restoration project requires upfront consideration, including via modeling possible changes in carbon stocks. In this study, we quantified the carbon stocks in tall shrub vegetation proliferating in a degraded salt marsh that is currently the subject of an extensive restoration project. We produced allometric models to estimate biomass and carbon stocks for three tall shrub species, which, along with other freshwater and upland species in the area, will die with continued restoration. Therefore, estimating the potential for carbon losses in biomass is important. We also developed a means of estimating carbon stocks in other nontree plants in the estuary area. Useful equations for estimating the biomass of tall shrubs are limited in general and lacking for degraded systems. Our study adds to the literature on carbon stocks in shrub species and fills a data gap for degraded ecosystems. It also contributes to the broader carbon feasibility study of the aforementioned restoration project that was designed to predict the overall net impact of the project on greenhouse gas emissions in the ecosystem.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.