Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

Oscar Serrano¹, Catherine E Lovelock^{2

3}, Trisha B Atwood^{3

4}, Peter I Macreadie⁵, Robert Canto^{3

6}, Stuart Phinn^{3

6}, Ariane Arias-Ortiz⁷, Le Bai⁸, Jeff Baldock⁹, Camila Bedulli^{10

11}, Paul Carnell⁵, Rod M Connolly¹², Paul Donaldson¹³, Alba Esteban¹⁴, Carolyn J Ewers Lewis⁵, Bradley D Eyre¹⁵, Matthew A Hayes^{2

3

12}, Pierre Horwitz¹⁴, Lindsay B Hutley⁸, Christopher R J Kavazos^{14

16}, Jeffrey J Kelleway¹⁷, Gary A Kendrick^{10

18}, Kieryn Kilminster^{18

19}, Anna Lafratta¹⁴, Shing Lee^{12

20}, Paul S Lavery^{14

21}, Damien T Maher¹⁵, Núria Marbà²², Pere Masque^{14

7

10

23}, Miguel A Mateo^{14

21}, Richard Mount²⁴, Peter J Ralph²⁵, Chris Roelfsema⁶, Mohammad Rozaimi^{14

26}, Radhiyah Ruhon^{10

27}, Cristian Salinas^{14

28}, Jimena Samper-Villarreal^{3

29

30}, Jonathan Sanderman^{9

31}, Christian J Sanders³², Isaac Santos³², Chris Sharples²⁴, Andrew D L Steven³³, Toni Cannard³³, Stacey M Trevathan-Tackett⁵, Carlos M Duarte^{10

34}

Affiliations

¹ School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia. o.serranogras@ecu.edu.au.
² School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
³ The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁴ Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA.
⁵ Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia.
⁶ Remote Sensing Research Centre/Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁷ Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals and Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.
⁸ Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, 0810, Australia.
⁹ CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 2, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia.
¹⁰ UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
¹¹ Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, 18618-970, Brazil.
¹² Australian Rivers Institute-Coast and Estuaries, School of Environment andScience, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia.
¹³ BMT Environment, Newcastle, NSW, 2292, Australia.
¹⁴ School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.
¹⁵ Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
¹⁶ School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.
¹⁷ School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
¹⁸ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
¹⁹ Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA, 6027, Australia.
²⁰ Simon FS Li Marine Science Laboratory, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
²¹ Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, 17300, Blanes, Spain.
²² Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Spain.
²³ School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
²⁴ Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, School of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia.
²⁵ Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia.
²⁶ Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
²⁷ Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km.10, Tamalanrea, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia.
²⁸ Marine and Coastal Research Institute "José Benito Vives De Andréis" INVEMAR, Calle 25 No. 2-55, Santa Marta, Colombia.
²⁹ Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Ciudad de la Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.
³⁰ Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
³¹ Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA, 02540, USA.
³² National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia.
³³ CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia.
³⁴ Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 31575872
PMCID: PMC6773740
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8

Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

Oscar Serrano et al. Nat Commun. 2019.

. 2019 Oct 2;10(1):4313.

doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia. o.serranogras@ecu.edu.au.
² School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
³ The Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁴ Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA.
⁵ Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Burwood Campus, Geelong, VIC, 3125, Australia.
⁶ Remote Sensing Research Centre/Joint Remote Sensing Research Program, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Queensland, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁷ Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals and Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.
⁸ Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, 0810, Australia.
⁹ CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 2, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia.
¹⁰ UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
¹¹ Instituto de Biociências de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, 18618-970, Brazil.
¹² Australian Rivers Institute-Coast and Estuaries, School of Environment andScience, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia.
¹³ BMT Environment, Newcastle, NSW, 2292, Australia.
¹⁴ School of Science and Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia.
¹⁵ Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.
¹⁶ School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.
¹⁷ School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
¹⁸ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
¹⁹ Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA, 6027, Australia.
²⁰ Simon FS Li Marine Science Laboratory, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
²¹ Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-CSIC, 17300, Blanes, Spain.
²² Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Spain.
²³ School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
²⁴ Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, School of Technology, Environments and Design, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia.
²⁵ Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia.
²⁶ Centre for Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
²⁷ Faculty of Marine Science and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km.10, Tamalanrea, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia.
²⁸ Marine and Coastal Research Institute "José Benito Vives De Andréis" INVEMAR, Calle 25 No. 2-55, Santa Marta, Colombia.
²⁹ Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Ciudad de la Investigación, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.
³⁰ Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
³¹ Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA, 02540, USA.
³² National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia.
³³ CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia.
³⁴ Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 31575872
PMCID: PMC6773740
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8

Abstract

Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here, we present organic carbon (C) storage in VCE across Australian climate regions and estimate potential annual CO₂ emission benefits of VCE conservation and restoration. Australia contributes 5-11% of the C stored in VCE globally (70-185 Tg C in aboveground biomass, and 1,055-1,540 Tg C in the upper 1 m of soils). Potential CO₂ emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1-3.1 Tg CO₂-e yr^-1, increasing annual CO₂ emissions from land use change in Australia by 12-21%. This assessment, the most comprehensive for any nation to-date, demonstrates the potential of conservation and restoration of VCE to underpin national policy development for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
. Distribution of climate regions, vegetated coastal ecosystems (tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) and organic carbon (C) storage in Australia. a Climate regions used to classify vegetated coastal ecosystems and scale blue carbon storage across Australia. Climate regions for Australia were modified from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s “Koppen–Major Classess” climate classification for Australia based on temperature/humidity, vegetation and seasonal rainfall. The original climate classification scheme was comprised of six classes: Equatorial, Tropical, Subtropical, Desert, Grassland and Temperate, but the number of climate regions was reduced into five categories: Tropical (includes Equatorial), Subtropical, Arid (instead of Desert), Semi-arid (instead of Grassland) and Temperate. b Spatial distribution of tidal marsh, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems within Australia. c Organic carbon stocks in living aboveground biomass and soils (in the top meter), and C sequestration rates per unit area (Mg C ha⁻¹) and across Australia (Tg C). The stacked bars represent the maximum and minimum estimates (s.d.). Source data are provided as a Source Data file

**Fig. 2**
Scaled up estimates of organic carbon (C) storage in vegetated coastal ecosystems (tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) across Australian climate regions. a Soil C storage (Mg C ha⁻¹) in the top meter. b Living aboveground biomass C stock (Mg C ha⁻¹). c Soil C sequestration rates (Mg C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). The four ranges of data (indicated by different colors) are based on the lower quartile, median quartile, and upper quartile. Source data are provided as a Source Data file

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Le Quéré C, et al. Global Carbon Budget 2017. Earth Syst. Sci. Data. 2018;10:405–448.
1. Duarte CM, Middelburg JJ, Caraco N. Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle. Biogeosci. Discuss. 2004;1:659–679.
1. Mcleod E, et al. A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2. Front. Ecol. Environ. 2011;9:552–560.
1. Pendleton L, et al. Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” emissions from conversion and degradation of vegetated coastal ecosystems. PLoS ONE. 2012;7:e43542. - PMC - PubMed
1. Duarte CM, et al. The role of coastal plant communities for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nat. Clim. Change. 2013;3:961–968.

Publication types

Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Substances

Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

Affiliations

Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous