SYDNEY, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists have discovered that much of the carbon stored in coastal wetland soils originates from plants outside the wetlands, highlighting their broader role in global carbon storage.
The team at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) created a mathematical model that standardized and analyzed data from hundreds of measurements taken in the soils beneath saltmarsh, mangrove and seagrass wetlands, according to an AIMS statement released Tuesday.
"While the source of the organic carbon varied a lot depending on the location and conditions, we found that generally more than half the organic carbon stored in these soils came from plants outside of the wetland -- things like seaweeds and land plants growing offshore and upstream," said AIMS research scientist Chris Fulton.
"This means we need to start thinking about these blue carbon wetlands as part of a connected matrix," Fulton said, adding that protecting mangroves alone was not enough and that holistic coastal management was needed to safeguard all carbon sources.
Blue carbon is simply the term for carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems, referring to the "capture" and "storage" of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by natural plant growth and decay processes that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The study showed blue carbon sequestration can be enhanced by understanding how diverse plants contribute carbon to restored wetlands, potentially unlocking significant funding as Australia and the world seek carbon capture and storage solutions to achieve net zero emissions.
Fulton explained that excess atmospheric carbon causes climate events like marine heatwaves, floods and fires, stressing the need to help coastal plants in burying carbon while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The findings, published in Global Change Biology, highlighted the need to update blue carbon crediting systems in Australia and internationally to include all important carbon sources, not just the plants that create wetlands. ■
