Appreciating interconnectivity between habitats is key to blue carbon management

Smale, Dan; Moore, Pippa J.; Queirós, Ana M.; Higgs, Nicholas D.; Burrows, Michael T.

doi:10.1002/fee.1765

Cited by 61 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Although critical information about export of this detrital material is still lacking in many regions 11 , our ndings show that kelp detritus has long residence times in the coastal zone, and therefore high potential to be transported to deeper regions 36,47 . This is consistent with evidence that a substantial amount of kelp reaches deep marine sinks where it can be sequestered in the long-term 11,32,51 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Ocean temperature controls kelp decomposition and carbon sink potential

Filbee‐Dexter¹,

Feehan²,

Smale³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Compelling new evidence shows that kelp production contributes an important and underappreciated flux of carbon in the ocean. Major questions remain, however, about the controls on the cycling of this organic carbon in the coastal zone, and their implications for future carbon sequestration. Here we used field experiments distributed across 28° latitude, and the entire range of two dominant kelps in the northern hemisphere, to measure decomposition rates of kelp detritus on the seafloor in relation to environmental factors. Ocean temperature was the strongest control on detritus decomposition in both species, and it was positively related to decomposition. This suggests that decomposition could accelerate with ocean warming under climate change, increasing remineralization and reducing overall kelp carbon sequestration. However, we also demonstrate the potential for high kelp-carbon storage in cooler (northern) regions, which could be targeted by climate mitigation strategies to expand blue carbon sinks.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Ocean temperature controls kelp decomposition and carbon sink potential

Filbee‐Dexter¹,

Feehan²,

Smale³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…However, the proportion of this organic matter which is remineralized and released back into the water column compared to the proportion which is buried in the sediment is largely unknown. Organic matter from kelp forests is also exported to other coastal habitats where it can enter benthic carbon stocks though this process is still largely unconstrained given the limited availability of existing data (Krause-Jensen et al, 2018;Smale et al, 2018;Queirós et al, 2019). Without a better understanding of the fate of this organic matter, it is difficult to accurately quantify its contribution to the net coastal to pelagic carbon flux and the net burial of kelp in the sediment.…”

Section: Coastal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is increasing interest in the role of the ocean in mitigating atmospheric CO 2 increases, both in terms of the response to increasing emissions and the opportunities for managing and even enhancing carbon storage as "negative emissions" (Gallo et al, 2017;Gattuso et al, 2018;Smale et al, 2018). Carbon sequestration has clear societal benefit and society may wish to recognize this benefit in terms of economic value, in order to protect vulnerable ecosystems, aid policy decisions or widen the market for carbon management and trading (e.g., Nellemann et al, 2009;Lau, 2013;Luisetti et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

et al. 2020

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A carbon budget for the northwest European continental shelf seas (NWES) was synthesized using available estimates for coastal, pelagic and benthic carbon stocks and flows. Key uncertainties were identified and the effect of future impacts on the carbon budget were assessed. The water of the shelf seas contains between 210 and 230 Tmol of carbon and absorbs between 1.3 and 3.3 Tmol from the atmosphere annually. Offshelf transport and burial in the sediments account for 60-100 and 0-40% of carbon outputs from the NWES, respectively. Both of these fluxes remain poorly constrained by observations and resolving their magnitudes and relative importance is a key research priority. Pelagic and benthic carbon stocks are dominated by inorganic carbon. Shelf sediments contain the largest stock of carbon, with between 520 and 1600 Tmol stored in the top 0.1 m of the sea bed. Coastal habitats such as salt marshes and mud flats contain large amounts of carbon per unit area but their total carbon stocks are small compared to pelagic and benthic stocks due to their smaller spatial extent. The large pelagic stock of carbon will continue to increase due to the rising concentration of atmospheric CO 2 , with associated pH decrease. Pelagic carbon stocks and flows are also likely to be significantly affected by increasing acidity and temperature, and circulation changes but the net impact is uncertain. Benthic carbon stocks will be affected by increasing temperature and acidity, and decreasing oxygen concentrations, although the net impact of these interrelated changes on carbon stocks is uncertain and a major knowledge gap. The impact of bottom trawling on benthic carbon stocks Frontiers in Marine Science | www.frontiersin.org 1 March 2020 | Volume 7 | Article 143Legge et al.Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf is unique amongst the impacts we consider in that it is widespread and also directly manageable, although its net effect on the carbon budget is uncertain. Coastal habitats are vulnerable to sea level rise and are strongly impacted by management decisions. Local, national and regional actions have the potential to protect or enhance carbon storage, but ultimately global governance, via controls on emissions, has the greatest potential to influence the long-term fate of carbon stocks in the northwestern European continental shelf.

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“…Accumulations of detrital material within these ecosystems can form deep organic-rich soils that represent globally important carbon repositories (Donato et al, 2011;Fourqurean et al, 2012). In addition, the transport of detrital material between habitats represents an important vector of carbon transfer in the coastal marine environment (Hyndes et al, 2014;Smale, Moore, Queiros, Higgs, & Burrows, 2018). Indeed, due to the highly dynamic and open nature of the marine environment, carbon may be buried within depositional habitats great distances from the source, thereby contributing to the total amount of carbon that is buried (Duarte & Krause-Jensen, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon assimilation and transfer through kelp forests in the NE Atlantic is diminished under a warmer ocean climate

Pessarrodona

Moore

Sayer

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

111

143

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Global climate change is affecting carbon cycling by driving changes in primary productivity and rates of carbon fixation, release and storage within Earth's vegetated systems. There is, however, limited understanding of how carbon flow between donor and recipient habitats will respond to climatic changes. Macroalgal‐dominated habitats, such as kelp forests, are gaining recognition as important carbon donors within coastal carbon cycles, yet rates of carbon assimilation and transfer through these habitats are poorly resolved. Here, we investigated the likely impacts of ocean warming on coastal carbon cycling by quantifying rates of carbon assimilation and transfer in Laminaria hyperborea kelp forests—one of the most extensive coastal vegetated habitat types in the NE Atlantic—along a latitudinal temperature gradient. Kelp forests within warm climatic regimes assimilated, on average, more than three times less carbon and donated less than half the amount of particulate carbon compared to those from cold regimes. These patterns were not related to variability in other environmental parameters. Across their wider geographical distribution, plants exhibited reduced sizes toward their warm‐water equatorward range edge, further suggesting that carbon flow is reduced under warmer climates. Overall, we estimated that Laminaria hyperborea forests stored ~11.49 Tg C in living biomass and released particulate carbon at a rate of ~5.71 Tg C year−1. This estimated flow of carbon was markedly higher than reported values for most other marine and terrestrial vegetated habitat types in Europe. Together, our observations suggest that continued warming will diminish the amount of carbon that is assimilated and transported through temperate kelp forests in NE Atlantic, with potential consequences for the coastal carbon cycle. Our findings underline the need to consider climate‐driven changes in the capacity of ecosystems to fix and donate carbon when assessing the impacts of climate change on carbon cycling.

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Appreciating interconnectivity between habitats is key to blue carbon management

Cited by 61 publications

References 15 publications

Ocean temperature controls kelp decomposition and carbon sink potential

Ocean temperature controls kelp decomposition and carbon sink potential

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

Carbon assimilation and transfer through kelp forests in the NE Atlantic is diminished under a warmer ocean climate

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