A Review of Global Wetland Carbon Stocks and Management Challenges

Poulter, Benjamin; Fluet‐Chouinard, Etienne; Hugelius, Gustaf; Koven, C. D.; Fatoyinbo, Lola; Page, Susan; Rosentreter, Judith A.; Smart, Lindsey S.; Taillie, Paul J.; Thomas, Nathan; Zhang, Zhen; Wijedasa, Lahiru S.

doi:10.1002/9781119639305.ch1

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…Tropical peatland carbon (88.6 Pg) is estimated to be 15% of the global peatland carbon, with boreal and temperate peatland carbon estimated to be 521.4 Pg [343]. Temperate peatland carbon is understudied and as a result has high uncertainty in the carbon estimates [378]. The area of tropical peatlands is uncertain (387 201-657 430 km 2 ), and the largest area (56%) and most of the carbon stock (77%) are in Southeast Asia [327], followed by the Amazon basin [379].…”

Section: Data and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Terrestrial and coastal carbon budgets can be enhanced by determining the type of disturbance [40] and quantifying the carbon impacts of varied change processes including degradation, loss, and restoration [604]. Poulter et al [378] proposed reducing global-scale wetland carbon uncertainty with additional field collection, continuous flux measurements, new satellite data sources, improved modeling of biogeochemical processes, and harnessing high-performance computing. While initially proposed for wetlands, these methods for reducing uncertainty are helpful for all WC monitoring.…”

Section: Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of carbon monitoring in wet carbon systems using remote sensing

Campbell

Fatoyinbo

Charles

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Carbon monitoring is critical for the reporting and verification of carbon stocks and change. Remote sensing is a tool increasingly used to estimate the spatial heterogeneity, extent and change of carbon stocks within and across various systems. We designate the use of the term wet carbon system to the interconnected wetlands, ocean, river and streams, lakes and ponds, and permafrost, which are carbon-dense and vital conduits for carbon throughout the terrestrial and aquatic sections of the carbon cycle. We reviewed wet carbon monitoring studies that utilize earth observation to improve our knowledge of data gaps, methods, and future research recommendations. To achieve this, we conducted a systematic review collecting 1,622 references and screening them with a combination of text matching and a panel of three experts. The search found 496 references, with an additional 78 references added by experts. Our study found considerable variability of the utilization of remote sensing and global wet carbon monitoring progress across the nine systems analyzed. The review highlighted that remote sensing is routinely used to globally map carbon in mangroves and oceans, whereas seagrass, terrestrial wetlands, tidal marshes, rivers, and permafrost would benefit from more accurate and comprehensive global maps of extent. We identified three critical gaps and twelve recommendations to continue progressing wet carbon systems and increase cross system scientific inquiry.

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Section: Data and Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of carbon monitoring in wet carbon systems using remote sensing

Campbell

Fatoyinbo

Charles

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Second, soil depth requires to be considered and reported to provide total soil SOC stock estimates. Most studies and syntheses documenting mangrove SOC stocks have provided estimates for the top meter only (e.g., Atwood et al., 2017; Jardine & Siikamäki, 2014; Poulter et al., 2021). This was also the case for the data set presented in Figures 1b and 1c (Rovai et al., 2018, 2021).…”

Section: Carbon Burial Rates Versus Carbon Content: a Mangrove Soil O...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Going Local: How Coastal Environmental Settings Can Help Improve Global Mangrove Carbon Storage and Flux Estimates

Taillardat

2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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The magnitude and variability of mangrove carbon storage are uncertain and still being discussed. In a recent article, Breithaupt and Steinmuller (2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100177) completed a literature review and compared mangrove organic carbon burial rates between different coastal environmental settings (CES) that integrate sedimentary supply (terrigenous vs. carbonate) and hydrogeomorphic settings (delta, estuary, lagoon, open coast). They found greater burial rates in terrigenous delta and estuaries while lower rates were reported in lagoons and carbonate settings. Surprisingly, these CES relationships do not strictly match previous mangrove soil carbon stock estimates but were consistent with biomass stocks. The CES approach used by Breithaupt and Steinmuller should be used for other mangrove carbon stocks and fluxes estimates to refine our understanding of mangrove carbon cycling and storage.

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“…Therefore, a third intervention is: (3) reducing CH 4 or N 2 O emissions over and above management of CO 2 emissions. While preventing loss of soil C stock through oxidation is a dominant means of reducing wetland GHG emissions (Pendleton et al 2012), CH 4 emission management is increasingly being considered in global agreements for Reducing Emissions of Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) climate mitigation offsets (Poulter et al 2021). Lateral hydrologic fluxes of organic and inorganic carbon are only recently being considered for climate mitigation offsets, as a function of alkalinity or burial (Santos et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Sequestration and Subsidence Reversal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay: Management Opportunities for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

Windham–Myers¹,

Oikawa²,

Deverel³

et al. 2023

SFEWS

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The aquatic landscapes of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (hereafter, the Delta) and Suisun Bay represent both a significant past and future soil carbon stock. Historical alterations of hydrologic flows have led to depletion of soil carbon stocks via emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), and loss of elevation as a result of subsidence. Optimizing ecosystem hydrology in the Delta and Suisun Bay could both reduce and reverse subsidence while also providing significant opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs)—notably CO2, methane (CH4 ), and nitrous oxide (N2O)—contribute to global warming at different rates and intensities, requiring GHG accounting and modeling to assess the relative benefits of management options. Decades of data collection, model building, and map development suggest that past and current management actions have both caused—and can mitigate—losses of soil carbon. We review here the magnitude of potential GHG offsets, management options that may be achievable, and trade-offs of carbon storage under different land management. Using a land-use/land-cover framework to assess these management options, we describe the potential of three interventions (impoundment to reverse subsidence, agricultural management, and tidal reintroduction and/or maintained connectivity), both in acreage and radiative balance to clarify their relative influence on the region’s GHG balance today and in relation to its millennial history. From floodplains to farming to floating aquatic vegetation, we find specific scalable strategies to manage hydrology that can alter regional GHG balance. Preservation of soil carbon stocks and restoration of net atmospheric CO2 fluxes into soils are the primary route to net negative emissions in the Delta and Suisun Bay, with CH4 emission management occurring in a supporting role. Over a 40-year horizon of climate-mitigation markets, the resilience of different aquatic habitats introduces the most uncertainty, from expected and unexpected hydrologic changes associated with land, ocean, and operational water flows.

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A Review of Global Wetland Carbon Stocks and Management Challenges

Cited by 16 publications

References 151 publications

A review of carbon monitoring in wet carbon systems using remote sensing

A review of carbon monitoring in wet carbon systems using remote sensing

Going Local: How Coastal Environmental Settings Can Help Improve Global Mangrove Carbon Storage and Flux Estimates

Carbon Sequestration and Subsidence Reversal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay: Management Opportunities for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

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