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Australian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation

2019; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41467-019-12176-8

2041-1723

Óscar Serrano, Catherine E. Lovelock, Trisha B. Atwood, Peter I. Macreadie, Robert Canto, Stuart Phinn, Ariane Arias‐Ortiz, Le Bai, Jeff Baldock, Camila Bedulli, Paul E. Carnell, Rod M. Connolly, Paul M. Donaldson, Alba Esteban, Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Bradley D. Eyre, Matthew A. Hayes, Pierre Horwitz, Lindsay B. Hutley, Christopher R. J. Kavazos, Jeffrey J. Kelleway, Gary A. Kendrick, Kieryn Kilminster, Anna Lafratta, Shing Yip Lee, Paul S. Lavery, Damien T. Maher, Núria Marbà, Pere Masqué, Miguel Á. Mateo, RE Mount, Peter J. Ralph, Chris Roelfsema, Mohammad Rozaimi, Radhiyah Ruhon, Cristian Salinas, Jimena Samper‐Villarreal, Jonathan Sanderman, Christian J. Sanders, Isaac R. Santos, C Sharples, Andy Steven, Toni Cannard, Stacey M. Trevathan‐Tackett, Carlos M. Duarte,

Coastal and Marine Dynamics

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 CO 2 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 CO 2 emissions from current VCE losses are estimated at 2.1–3.1 Tg CO 2 -e yr -1 , increasing annual CO 2 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.