Research article | Highlight paper |
| 15 Dec 2022
Quantification of blue carbon in salt marshes of the Pacific coast of Canada
Stephen G. Chastain,Karen E. Kohfeld,Marlow G. Pellatt,Carolina Olid,and Maija Gailis
Stephen G. Chastain
School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser
University, Burnaby,
Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and
Tsleil-Waututh, V5A 1S6, Canada
School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser
University, Burnaby,
Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and
Tsleil-Waututh, V5A 1S6, Canada
School of Environmental Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby,
V5A 1S6, Canada
Marlow G. Pellatt
School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser
University, Burnaby,
Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and
Tsleil-Waututh, V5A 1S6, Canada
Parks Canada, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation
Directorate, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 6B4, Canada
Carolina Olid
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of
Agricultural Science, Umeå, Sweden
Departament de Dinàmica de la
Terra i l'Oceà, UB-Geomodels Research Institute, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de
Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
The carbon accumulation rates of the described salt marsh soils are approximately 2-7 times greater than net C uptake rates of Canadian boreal forests, which highlights their potential importance as C reservoirs and the need to consider their C accumulation capacity as a climate mitigation co-benefit when conserving for other salt marsh ecosystem services.
The carbon accumulation rates of the described salt marsh soils are approximately 2-7 times...
Salt marshes are thought to be important carbon sinks because of their ability to store carbon in their soils. We provide the first estimates of how much blue carbon is stored in salt marshes on the Pacific coast of Canada. We find that the carbon stored in the marshes is low compared to other marshes around the world, likely because of their young age. Still, the high marshes take up carbon at rates faster than the global average, making them potentially important carbon sinks in the future.
Salt marshes are thought to be important carbon sinks because of their ability to store carbon...
