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Significant Organic Carbon Accumulation in Two Coastal Acid Sulfate Soil Wetlands
Author(s) -
Brown Dylan R.,
Johnston Scott G.,
Santos Isaac R.,
Holloway Ceylena J.,
Sanders Christian J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl082076
Subject(s) - wetland , blue carbon , environmental science , total organic carbon , mangrove , ecosystem , carbon sequestration , soil carbon , sulfate , sediment , carbon fibers , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , carbon dioxide , ecology , soil water , geology , soil science , chemistry , biology , paleontology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material
Restoring degraded freshwater wetlands may help to maximize soil carbon sequestration. In this study, we use 18 210 Pb‐dated sediment cores to determine the organic carbon (OC) accumulation rates from two hydrologically restored freshwater coastal acid sulfate soil (CASS) wetlands. Recent OC accumulation rates (from ~1980 to present) were estimated to be 251 ± 26 g·m −2 ·year −1 in the seasonally inundated CASS and 227 ± 50 g·m −2 ·year −1 in the permanently inundated CASS. The average OC accumulation during the previous century (190 ± 20 g·m −2 ·year −1 ) was within the range of blue carbon ecosystems (saltmarshes, mangroves, and seagrasses). Considering their large area and carbon accumulation rate, we estimate that Australian CASS wetlands sequester approximately 7.8 ± 0.8 Tg of carbon annually, which is equivalent to ~8% of the CO 2 emission from fossil fuels in Australia. Hence, preserving or restoring CASS may be a good climate change mitigation strategy.