Implementation of blue carbon offset crediting for seagrass meadows, macroalgal beds, and macroalgae farming in Japan

Kuwae, Tomohiro; Watanabe, Atsushi; Yoshihara, Satoru; Suehiro, Fujiyo; Sugimura, Yoshihisa

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2022.104996

Cited by 52 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Furthermore, the insights provided by ensemble SDMs can also facilitate marine spatial planning processes, emergency response planning, evaluation of carbon sequestration and storage by SAV, and habitatspecific assessments of anthropogenic and cumulative impacts. With the emergence of blue carbon offset crediting (Kuwae et al, 2022) and more ambitious post-2020 biodiversity agreement under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD Secretariat, 2021), the more balanced approach provided by ensemble modeling techniques that integrate information from numerous models in their spatial predictions, characterize species-environment relationships, and allow concurrent assessment and display of probability of occurrence and uncertainty will become increasingly pertinent to support the accelerated protection and restoration of shallow nearshore ecosystems and the pivotal functions and services they provide. design, collected the data, designed the analysis, and contributed to the manuscript text.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale ensemble species distribution modeling of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to inform nearshore conservation planning and habitat management

O’Brien

Wong²,

Stanley³

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Baseline data on the distribution and extent of biogenic habitat-forming species at a high spatial resolution are essential to inform habitat management strategies, preserve ecosystem integrity, and achieve effective conservation objectives in the nearshore. Model-based approaches to map suitable habitat for these species are a key tool to address this need, filling in gaps where observations are otherwise unavailable and remote sensing methods are limited by turbid waters or cannot be applied at scale. We developed a high resolution (35 m) ensemble species distribution model to predict the distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada where the observational coverage of eelgrass occurrence is sparse and nearshore waters are optically complex. Our ensemble model was derived as a performance-weighted average prediction of 7 different modeling methods fit to 6 physical predictors (substrate type, depth, wave exposure, slope, and two bathymetric position indices) and evaluated with a 5-fold spatially-blocked cross-validation procedure. The ensemble model showed moderate predictive performance (Area Under the Receiver-Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) = 0.803 ± 0.061, True Skill Statistic (TSS) = 0.531 ± 0.100; mean ± SD), high sensitivity (92.0 ± 4.5), and offered some improvement over individual models. Substrate type, depth, and relative wave exposure were the most influential predictors associated with eelgrass occurrence, where the highest probabilities were associated with sandy and sandy-mud sediments, depths ranging 0 m – 4 m, and low to intermediate wave exposure. Within our study region, we predicted a total extent of suitable eelgrass habitat of 38,130 ha. We found suitable habitat was particularly extensive within the long narrow inlets and extensive shallow flats of the South Shore, Eastern Shore, and Bras d’Or Lakes. We also identified substantial overlap of eelgrass habitat with previously identified Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas that guide regional conservation planning while also highlighting areas of greater prediction uncertainty arising from disagreement among modeling methods. By offering improved sensitivity and insights into the fine-scale regional distribution of a habitat-forming species with associated uncertainties, our ensemble-based modeling approach provides improved support to numerous nearshore applications including conservation planning and restoration, marine spatial and emergency response planning, environmental impact assessments, and fish habitat protection.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale ensemble species distribution modeling of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to inform nearshore conservation planning and habitat management

O’Brien

Wong²,

Stanley³

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Interest in financing coastal restoration or afforestation through the sale of carbon offset credits 62 adds urgency to including counterbalancing CH 4 emissions to evaluate the atmospheric carbon removal function correctly. Notably, macroalgae habitats are proclaimed to be Earth's largest vegetated coastal biome with exceptionally high rates of net primary production 34 , and are, thus, already part of such carbon offset schemes 63 but have no reported in situ CH 4 emission rates identified to date.…”

Section: Accounting For Ch 4 Emissions From a Wide Range Of Coastal E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane emissions offset atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake in coastal macroalgae, mixed vegetation and sediment ecosystems

et al. 2023

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Coastal ecosystems can efficiently remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and are thus promoted for nature-based climate change mitigation. Natural methane (CH4) emissions from these ecosystems may counterbalance atmospheric CO2 uptake. Still, knowledge of mechanisms sustaining such CH4 emissions and their contribution to net radiative forcing remains scarce for globally prevalent macroalgae, mixed vegetation, and surrounding depositional sediment habitats. Here we show that these habitats emit CH4 in the range of 0.1 – 2.9 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 to the atmosphere, revealing in situ CH4 emissions from macroalgae that were sustained by divergent methanogenic archaea in anoxic microsites. Over an annual cycle, CO2-equivalent CH4 emissions offset 28 and 35% of the carbon sink capacity attributed to atmospheric CO2 uptake in the macroalgae and mixed vegetation habitats, respectively, and augment net CO2 release of unvegetated sediments by 57%. Accounting for CH4 alongside CO2 sea-air fluxes and identifying the mechanisms controlling these emissions is crucial to constrain the potential of coastal ecosystems as net atmospheric carbon sinks and develop informed climate mitigation strategies.

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“…Finally, identifying governance opportunities through public-private partnerships is essential, given the need to keep carbon safe and reduce deforestation (Furumo and Lambin, 2020). Consequently, reviews highlighting the synergy between stakeholders provide crucial elements to extrapolate into other locationssuch as the efforts in Cispatá, the first long-term sustainable financing strategy in the Colombian Caribbean (Verra, 2021;Kuwae et al, 2022).…”

Section: Limitations and Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mangroves Cover Change Trajectories 1984-2020: The Gradual Decrease of Mangroves in Colombia

2022

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Awareness of the significant benefits of mangroves to human lives and their role in regulating environmental processes has increased during the recent decades. Yet there remains significant uncertainty about the mangrove change trajectories and the drivers of change at national scales. In Colombia, the absence of historical satellite imagery and persistent cloud cover have impeded the accurate mapping of mangrove extent and change over time. We create a temporally consistent Landsat-derived dataset using the LandTrendr algorithm to track the historical land cover and mangrove conversion from 1984-2020 across Colombia. Over this period, mangrove extent decreased by ~48.000ha (14% of total mangrove area). We find a gradual reduction of mangrove extent along the Pacific coast since 2004, whereas, in the Caribbean, mangrove cover declined around during 1984-1988 and also after 2012. Our time-series analysis matches with drivers of mangrove change at three local sites. For instance, hydroclimatic events, dredging activities, and high sediment loads transported by the rivers have collectively improved mangrove recovery in some sites. In contrast, human activities pressure linked to agricultural expansion and road construction have degraded mangroves. The transition from dense mangrove to other vegetation types is the most significant conversion affecting mangrove cover in Colombia, impacting an area of 38,469 ± 2,829 ha. We anticipate increased mangrove loss, especially along the Pacific coast, resulting from intensified human activity. Prioritization of conservation areas is needed to support local institutions, maintain currently protected areas, and develop strategies (e.g. payment for ecosystem services) to preserve one of the most pristine mangrove regions in the Western Hemisphere.

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Implementation of blue carbon offset crediting for seagrass meadows, macroalgal beds, and macroalgae farming in Japan

Cited by 52 publications

References 34 publications

Fine-scale ensemble species distribution modeling of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to inform nearshore conservation planning and habitat management

Fine-scale ensemble species distribution modeling of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to inform nearshore conservation planning and habitat management

Methane emissions offset atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake in coastal macroalgae, mixed vegetation and sediment ecosystems

Mangroves Cover Change Trajectories 1984-2020: The Gradual Decrease of Mangroves in Colombia

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