Will coastal wetlands continue to sequester carbon in response to an increase in global sea level?: a case study of the rapidly subsiding Mississippi river deltaic plain

• Published in: Climatic change Vol. 110; no. 1-2; pp. 297 - 314
• Main Authors: DeLaune, R. D., White, J. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 21st century; Accretion; Atmospheric Sciences; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon sequestration; Case studies; Climate change; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; Coastal; Coastal marshes; Coastal zone; Coasts; Deterioration; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Environmental restoration; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Freshwater; Greenhouse effect; Hurricanes; Marine; Marshes; Meteorology; Restoration; River ecology; Sea level; Sea level rise; Sediments; Soil erosion; Soil profiles; Soils; Terrestrial ecosystems; Wetlands; Louisiana; United States; Mississippi River; United States > US; Wetland Loss; Coastal Wetland; Land Loss; Salt Marsh; Marsh Soil; swamps; climate warming; Sea level rise; case studies; North America; Carbon sequestration; greenhouse gas; coastal zone; wetlands; hurricanes; Severe weather; Tropical cyclone; storms; climate change
• ISSN: 0165-0009; 1573-1480
• DOI: 10.1007/s10584-011-0089-6

The highly visible coastal phenomenon of wetland loss in coastal Louisiana (LA) was examined through the prism of carbon accumulation and loss. Carbon storage or sequestration in rapidly subsiding LA coastal marsh soils was based on vertical marsh accretion and aerial change data. Marshes sequester significant amount of carbon through vertical accretion however, large amounts of carbon previously sequestration in the soil profile is lost through annual deterioration of these coastal marshes. Hurricanes, such as Katrina and Rita, have triggered instantaneous large carbon losses of sequestered soil carbon through the destruction of large areas of marsh. This analysis shows proposed coastal restoration efforts will not be sufficient to restore carbon losses by storms and marsh deterioration. Further, we have estimated the economic benefit of carbon sequestration for coastal wetland restoration efforts. Results show that LA coastal marshes may not serve as a net sink of carbon. These results may serve as a predictor of the impact of future predictions of increasing global sea level rise on carbon sequestration for other coastal regions.