Report highlights significance of Maine salt marshes and seagrass for carbon storage
A brand new report from the Environmental Safety Company underscores the significance of coastal marshes and seagrass in storing carbon. This so-called blue carbon is getting extra consideration.
The U.S. Environmental Safety Company report on blue carbon from Maine to Lengthy Island reveals that Maine has 54,000 acres of salt marsh and eelgrass habitat, which retailer about 1.7 million metric tons of carbon.
Bates School professor Beverly Johnson co-wrote the report, and her college students gathered among the information. She mentioned salt marshes sequester extra carbon per acre than timber. However when interested by local weather options, many individuals deal with forests, also referred to as inexperienced carbon.
“Lots of people assume, ‘We’ll go plant a tree,’” Johnson mentioned. “Which is nice, that’s an amazing thought. However let’s additionally take into consideration conserving and restoring salt marshes and eelgrass beds. They’re additionally extremely highly effective carbon sinks within the state of Maine.”
Johnson mentioned it will likely be vital to proceed learning seagrass and salt marsh habitats, to be taught not solely how they guard towards the worst impacts of local weather change by sequestering carbon and defending the shoreline, but in addition how they is perhaps affected by rising sea ranges and different impacts of local weather change.
This text seems by a media partnership with Maine Public.
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