Methane emissions partially offset "blue carbon" burial in mangroves.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29928690.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aao4985 and PMC identifier 6007160.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Organic matter burial in mangrove forests results in the removal and long-term storage of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, so-called "blue carbon." However, some of this organic matter is metabolized and returned to the atmosphere as CH<sub>4</sub>. Because CH<sub>4</sub> has a higher global warming potential than the CO<sub>2</sub> fixed in the organic matter, it can offset the CO<sub>2</sub> removed via carbon burial. We provide the first estimate of the global magnitude of this offset. Our results show that high CH<sub>4</sub> evasion rates have the potential to partially offset blue carbon burial rates in mangrove sediments on average by 20% (sensitivity analysis offset range, 18 to 22%) using the 20-year global warming potential. Hence, mangrove sediment and water CH<sub>4</sub> emissions should be accounted for in future blue carbon assessments.