The role of blue forests to capture and store
atmospheric carbon and other ecosystem
services, nationally and globally
Dr Sindre Langaas
Research Manager
Norwegian Institute of Water Research
&
Norwegian Blue Forests Network
Presentation at United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea,
Eighteenth meeting: "The effects of climate change on oceans“, 15 - 19 May 2017, United Nations Headquarters
Contents
• Definitions
• Blue forest types, their carbon
sequestration & storage capacity
Peter Prokosch/GRID-Arendal/NBFN
• Other pertinent ecosystem
services offered by blue forests
• Recognition of blue forests/blue
carbon in UN FCCC and related
initiatives
Janne Gitmark/NIVA/NBFN
Definitions
Blue forests
“Marine and coastal ecosystems that are particularly valuable through
their provision of multiple ecosystem services, of which carbon
sequestration and storage is one”
Figure
Global distribution of seagrasses,
tidal marshes, and mangroves.
Pendleton L, et al. 2012 . PLOS ONE 7(9):
e43542.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043542
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.
1371/journal.pone.0043542
Blue Carbon
“Carbon stored, sequestered or released from coastal ecosystems such
as tidal marshes, mangroves, seagrass meadows and kelp forests”
BURIAL RATE
Carbon burial rate (kg C/ha/yr)
STORAGE
Ecosystem services
• “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems”
Blue forest types, their carbon
sequestration & storage capacity
(Tidal) Saltmarshes
Coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone that is regularly
flooded by tides
Peter Prokosch/GRID-Arendal/NBFN
Saltmarshes
Seagrass meadows
Flowering plants that grow in shallow coastal waters and can form vast
meadows, which alter the waterflow, nutrient cycling and food web
structure
Steven Lutz/GRID-Arendal/NBFN
Seagrass meadows
Mangrove forests
• A shrub or small tree that grows
in coastal saline or brackish water.
The term is also used for tropical
coastal vegetation consisting of
such species.
Mangroves
Kelp forests
• Underwater areas with a high density of kelp. They are recognized as one
of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth.
Kelp forests – the new «climate actor»
• Kelp have largely been excluded from discussions of marine carbon sinks as
it typically grow on hard bottoms.
• However, there are increasing reports of presence of macroalgal carbon in
the deep sea and sediments, where it is effectively sequestered from the
atmosphere.
• A synthesis of these data suggests that kelp could represent an important
source of the carbon sequestered in marine sediments and the deep
ocean.
• A rough estimate suggests that kelp could sequester about 173 TgC yr–1
(with a range of 61–268 TgC yr–1) globally.
• This estimate exceeds that for carbon sequestered in seagrasses, tidal
saltmarshes and mangroves
Dorte Krause-Jensen & Carlos M. Duarte (2016) Substantial role of macroalgae in marine carbon sequestration. Nature
Geoscience 9, 737–742 (2016) doi:10.1038/ngeo2790
Other pertinent ecosystem
services offered by blue forests
Blue forest
type
Supporting services
Seagrass
meadows
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Cultural services
Primary production
Reservoirs of high
biodiversity
Food basket
Hide and breeding area
Water purification
Cultural values
Recreation & tourism
Tidal
saltmarshes
Primary production
Water purification
Cultural values
Recreation & tourism
Mangrove
forests
Primary production
Reservoirs of high
biodiversity
Fuelwood,
Other wood products
Shoreline stabilization
& storm protection
Food basket
Hide and breeding area
Sediment & nutrient
retention and export
Cultural values
Recreation & tourism
Kelp forests
Primary production
Reservoirs of high
biodiversity
Alginate
Food
Medicine
Thickener
Coastal defence
Food basket
Hide and breeding area
Water purification
Reducing ocean
acidification
Cultural values
Recreation & tourism
Explicit recognition of blue
forests/blue carbon in global climate
convention and related initiatives
UN FCCC
Countries that included a reference to blue forests in terms of mitigation and/or
adaption in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
(28 countries)
BLUE CARBON - NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS INVENTORY
Appendix to: Coastal blue carbon ecosystems - Opportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions
http://dev.grida.no/BlueForests/Blue-Carbon-NDC-Appendix.pdf
(59 countries)
IPCC
Ch. 4 Coastal Wetlands in:
2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories: Wetlands
• Guidance and methodology for reporting GHG emissions and
removals from managed coastal wetlands
• Co-ordinating Lead Authors: Hilary Kennedy (UK), Daniel M. Alongi
(Australia) and Ansarul Karim (Bangladesh)
REDD+
• Mangroves are increasingly being included in REDD+ mechanisms
• Barriers to mangrove inclusion in REDD+
• Lack of appropriate certification methodologies
• A complex institutional landscape
• Lack of understanding of mangrove deforestation rates
• Opportunities and provisions to promote REDD+ in mangrove forests
• The causes of deforestation and forest degradation are similar in terrestrial and
mangrove forests
• REDD+ projects in mangrove forests need to be designed to address the socioeconomic context of coastal communities
• Social carbon certification schemes appear suitable for assessing social impacts in
mangrove communities
Thank you for listening!
Contact:
[email protected]
+47-982 27 747
www.nbnf.no