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

Roth, Florian; Broman, Elias; Sun, Xiaole; Bonaglia, Stefano; Nascimento, Francisco J. A.; Prytherch, John; Brüchert, Volker; Zara, Maysoon Lundevall; Brunberg, Märta; Geibel, M. C.; Humborg, Christoph; Norkko, Alf

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35673-9

Cited by 44 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 80 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The growing CH 4 emissions during summer (Figure a) can be attributed to the rapid growth of algae and changes in water quality. − During the summer, the vigorous growth of algae and aquatic plants leads to increased organic matter production through photosynthesis. These organic matters are subsequently released into the water, causing an increase in COD levels , (Figure a).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions in China’s Inland Waters Identified by Machine Learning Technique

Yang

et al. 2023

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fugitive emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), from water environments have aroused global concern. However, there are currently limited information about national-scale data of CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from inland waters, such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, particularly in developing countries. This study employed machine learning techniques, based on the literature data and national water quality monitoring data, to reveal the CH 4 and N 2 O emission patterns of China's inland waters at the third-level basin and daily resolution. Our results show significant seasonal variations in CH 4 emissions, which were influenced by total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand concentrations. Northern watersheds were identified as hotspots of CH 4 emissions, with 57% higher CH 4 flux than the other watersheds. In contrast, N 2 O had a relatively lower contribution to total carbon emissions and showed smaller temporal and spatial variations. The estimated total emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O in China's inland waters in 2021 amounted to 80.22 Tg of carbon dioxide equivalent, accounting for 9−11% of China's terrestrial carbon sinks. This research provides valuable insights to guide the counting and control of greenhouse gas emissions from environmental water bodies.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions in China’s Inland Waters Identified by Machine Learning Technique

Yang

et al. 2023

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Information on their emissions of other GHGs such as methane, nitrous oxide, or halocarbons is scarce, precluding an assessment of their potential importance. Methane emissions within macroalgae forests are likely to be low, as macroalgae occur mostly on exposed rocky substrates and most coastal methane emissions result from anaerobic methanogenesis in sediments (Rosentreter et al ., 2018, but see Roth et al ., 2022, 2023), being particularly high in eutrophic and meso‐ and hyposaline waters. The decomposition and burial of macroalgae‐derived carbon in beaches and anoxic sediments, however, can stimulate methane production (Björk et al ., 2023), and requires further investigation.…”

Section: Macroalgal Forests and Climate Change Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation using macroalgae: a state of knowledge review

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The conservation, restoration, and improved management of terrestrial forests significantly contributes to mitigate climate change and its impacts, as well as providing numerous co‐benefits. The pressing need to reduce emissions and increase carbon removal from the atmosphere is now also leading to the development of natural climate solutions in the ocean. Interest in the carbon sequestration potential of underwater macroalgal forests is growing rapidly among policy, conservation, and corporate sectors. Yet, our understanding of whether carbon sequestration from macroalgal forests can lead to tangible climate change mitigation remains severely limited, hampering their inclusion in international policy or carbon finance frameworks. Here, we examine the results of over 180 publications to synthesise evidence regarding macroalgal forest carbon sequestration potential. We show that research efforts on macroalgae carbon sequestration are heavily skewed towards particulate organic carbon (POC) pathways (77% of data publications), and that carbon fixation is the most studied flux (55%). Fluxes leading directly to carbon sequestration (e.g. carbon export or burial in marine sediments) remain poorly resolved, likely hindering regional or country‐level assessments of carbon sequestration potential, which are only available from 17 of the 150 countries where macroalgal forests occur. To solve this issue, we present a framework to categorize coastlines according to their carbon sequestration potential. Finally, we review the multiple avenues through which this sequestration can translate into climate change mitigation capacity, which largely depends on whether management interventions can increase carbon removal above a natural baseline or avoid further carbon emissions. We find that conservation, restoration and afforestation interventions on macroalgal forests can potentially lead to carbon removal in the order of 10's of Tg C globally. Although this is lower than current estimates of natural sequestration value of all macroalgal habitats (61–268 Tg C year−1), it suggests that macroalgal forests could add to the total mitigation potential of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and offer valuable mitigation opportunities in polar and temperate areas where blue carbon mitigation is currently low. Operationalizing that potential will necessitate the development of models that reliably estimate the proportion of production sequestered, improvements in macroalgae carbon fingerprinting techniques, and a rethinking of carbon accounting methodologies. The ocean provides major opportunities to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and the largest coastal vegetated habitat on Earth should not be ignored simply because it does not fit into existing frameworks.

show abstract

“…The seabed is usually type (b) since it is an open and nonreducing system, which produces short-chain acids that, in turn, react with amines to produce highly toxic amides [62].…”

Section: Photograph Of a Spill On The Coast Where You Can See The Fal...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Problems of Centralized Depuration Systems

Cisneros-Aguirre¹,

Afonso-Correa²

2023

Sustainable Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sewage management produces one of the worse impacts on our environment. The current technology applied is obsolete, which results in a huge public spent on installation and maintenance, with very negative consequences on the health of people and environment. The administration and the water companies try to hide these consequences, but the impacts are everyday more and more evident. This situation blocks any development of new technology that can solve the problem in a few years, changing the management, with strict control of every cubic meter of treated water and mud produced, saving an enormous quantity of money from public administration and avoiding a huge negative sanitary and environmental impact. New technologies can change the centralized depuration for decentralized depuration, avoiding the current problems, with a certificate control and saving between 80 and 90% of public inversion, and with the possibility to reuse the mud and treated water in place.

show abstract

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

Cited by 44 publications

References 80 publications

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions in China’s Inland Waters Identified by Machine Learning Technique

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions in China’s Inland Waters Identified by Machine Learning Technique

Carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation using macroalgae: a state of knowledge review

Problems of Centralized Depuration Systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About