Force For Good News

Wetlands Are a Powerhouse for Containing Carbon

As new studies unfold, they continue to show that wetlands capture carbon from the atmosphere to help offset climate change and their ability to do this may not be affected by rising sea levels. According to an article written for the Marine Biological Laboratory by Stephanie McPherson: “In the United States alone, coastal wetlands can offset the yearly carbon dioxide emissions from 800,000 cars. But as sea level rises with climate change, will coastal wetlands be overwhelmed, or will they retain their power as carbon sinks? New research from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) demonstrates that the wetlands will prevail. ‘We found even though sea level will continue to rise at different rates [from location to location], sediment accrual rates in coastal wetlands will outpace sea level rise,’ says MBL Ecosystems Center scientist Jianwu (Jim) Tang, senior author on the study, published in Nature Communications. More importantly, the carbon sequestered in coastal wetlands will stay locked away as new sediment deposits on top, allowing the marshland to act as a vault for excess carbon in the environment, the study found. Although coastal wetlands cover only about 2 percent of the ocean surface, they are estimated to sequester more than 50 percent of the carbon captured by the ocean per year. And they fix carbon in their sediments at rates 10 to 100 times higher than forests.”

Read the full article and watch the video [HERE]