Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31575872.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8 and PMC identifier 6773740.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
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 CO<sub>2</sub> 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 CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1-3.1 Tg CO<sub>2</sub>-e yr<sup>-1</sup>, increasing annual CO<sub>2</sub> 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.
Medical subject headings
- Carbon
- Climate Change
- Conservation of Natural Resources
- Wetlands