Coastal vegetation and estuaries are collectively a greenhouse gas sink

Judith A. Rosentreter; Goulven G. Laruelle; Hermann W. Bange; Thomas S. Bianchi; Julius J.M. Busecke; Wei Jun Cai; Bradley D. Eyre; Inke Forbrich; Eun Young Kwon; Taylor Maavara; Nils Moosdorf; Raymond G. Najjar; V. V.S.S. Sarma; Bryce Van Dam; Pierre Regnier

doi:10.1038/s41558-023-01682-9

Coastal vegetation and estuaries are collectively a greenhouse gas sink

Judith A. Rosentreter, Goulven G. Laruelle, Hermann W. Bange, Thomas S. Bianchi, Julius J.M. Busecke, Wei Jun Cai, Bradley D. Eyre, Inke Forbrich, Eun Young Kwon, Taylor Maavara, Nils Moosdorf, Raymond G. Najjar, V. V.S.S. Sarma, Bryce Van Dam, Pierre Regnier

Meteorology and Atmospheric Science

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103 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems release or absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), but the net effects of these ecosystems on the radiative balance remain unknown. We compiled a dataset of observations from 738 sites from studies published between 1975 and 2020 to quantify CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O fluxes in estuaries and coastal vegetation in ten global regions. We show that the CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e) uptake by coastal vegetation is decreased by 23–27% due to estuarine CO₂e outgassing, resulting in a global median net sink of 391 or 444 TgCO₂e yr⁻¹ using the 20- or 100-year global warming potentials, respectively. Globally, total coastal CH₄ and N₂O emissions decrease the coastal CO₂ sink by 9–20%. Southeast Asia, North America and Africa are critical regional hotspots of GHG sinks. Understanding these hotspots can guide our efforts to strengthen coastal CO₂ uptake while effectively reducing CH₄ and N₂O emissions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	579-587
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Climate Change
Volume	13
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01682-9
State	Published - Jun 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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Rosentreter, J. A., Laruelle, G. G., Bange, H. W., Bianchi, T. S., Busecke, J. J. M., Cai, W. J., Eyre, B. D., Forbrich, I., Kwon, E. Y., Maavara, T., Moosdorf, N., Najjar, R. G., Sarma, V. V. S. S., Van Dam, B., & Regnier, P. (2023). Coastal vegetation and estuaries are collectively a greenhouse gas sink. Nature Climate Change, 13(6), 579-587. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01682-9

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title = "Coastal vegetation and estuaries are collectively a greenhouse gas sink",

abstract = "Coastal ecosystems release or absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), but the net effects of these ecosystems on the radiative balance remain unknown. We compiled a dataset of observations from 738 sites from studies published between 1975 and 2020 to quantify CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes in estuaries and coastal vegetation in ten global regions. We show that the CO2-equivalent (CO2e) uptake by coastal vegetation is decreased by 23–27% due to estuarine CO2e outgassing, resulting in a global median net sink of 391 or 444 TgCO2e yr−1 using the 20- or 100-year global warming potentials, respectively. Globally, total coastal CH4 and N2O emissions decrease the coastal CO2 sink by 9–20%. Southeast Asia, North America and Africa are critical regional hotspots of GHG sinks. Understanding these hotspots can guide our efforts to strengthen coastal CO2 uptake while effectively reducing CH4 and N2O emissions.",

author = "Rosentreter, {Judith A.} and Laruelle, {Goulven G.} and Bange, {Hermann W.} and Bianchi, {Thomas S.} and Busecke, {Julius J.M.} and Cai, {Wei Jun} and Eyre, {Bradley D.} and Inke Forbrich and Kwon, {Eun Young} and Taylor Maavara and Nils Moosdorf and Najjar, {Raymond G.} and Sarma, {V. V.S.S.} and {Van Dam}, Bryce and Pierre Regnier",

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AU - Rosentreter, Judith A.

AU - Laruelle, Goulven G.

AU - Bange, Hermann W.

AU - Bianchi, Thomas S.

AU - Busecke, Julius J.M.

AU - Cai, Wei Jun

AU - Eyre, Bradley D.

AU - Forbrich, Inke

AU - Kwon, Eun Young

AU - Maavara, Taylor

AU - Moosdorf, Nils

AU - Najjar, Raymond G.

AU - Sarma, V. V.S.S.

AU - Van Dam, Bryce

AU - Regnier, Pierre

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Coastal ecosystems release or absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), but the net effects of these ecosystems on the radiative balance remain unknown. We compiled a dataset of observations from 738 sites from studies published between 1975 and 2020 to quantify CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes in estuaries and coastal vegetation in ten global regions. We show that the CO2-equivalent (CO2e) uptake by coastal vegetation is decreased by 23–27% due to estuarine CO2e outgassing, resulting in a global median net sink of 391 or 444 TgCO2e yr−1 using the 20- or 100-year global warming potentials, respectively. Globally, total coastal CH4 and N2O emissions decrease the coastal CO2 sink by 9–20%. Southeast Asia, North America and Africa are critical regional hotspots of GHG sinks. Understanding these hotspots can guide our efforts to strengthen coastal CO2 uptake while effectively reducing CH4 and N2O emissions.

AB - Coastal ecosystems release or absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), but the net effects of these ecosystems on the radiative balance remain unknown. We compiled a dataset of observations from 738 sites from studies published between 1975 and 2020 to quantify CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes in estuaries and coastal vegetation in ten global regions. We show that the CO2-equivalent (CO2e) uptake by coastal vegetation is decreased by 23–27% due to estuarine CO2e outgassing, resulting in a global median net sink of 391 or 444 TgCO2e yr−1 using the 20- or 100-year global warming potentials, respectively. Globally, total coastal CH4 and N2O emissions decrease the coastal CO2 sink by 9–20%. Southeast Asia, North America and Africa are critical regional hotspots of GHG sinks. Understanding these hotspots can guide our efforts to strengthen coastal CO2 uptake while effectively reducing CH4 and N2O emissions.

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Coastal vegetation and estuaries are collectively a greenhouse gas sink

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