Journal
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
Volume 35, Issue 5, Pages 1163-1181Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s12237-012-9508-9
Keywords
Brackish marsh; Carbon offsets; Climate change; Mineral matter accumulation; Organic matter accumulation; Salt marsh; San Francisco Bay Estuary; Sea-level rise; Sedimentation
Funding
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
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Tidal wetlands play an important role with respect to climate change because of both their sensitivity to sea-level rise and their ability to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Policy-based interest in carbon sequestration has increased recently, and wetland restoration projects have potential for carbon credits through soil carbon sequestration. We measured sediment accretion, mineral and organic matter accumulation, and carbon sequestration rates using Cs-137 and Pb-210 downcore distributions at six natural tidal wetlands in the San Francisco Bay Estuary. The accretion rates were, in general, 0.2-0.5 cm year(-1), indicating that local wetlands are keeping pace with recent rates of sea-level rise. Mineral accumulation rates were higher in salt marshes and at low-marsh stations within individual sites. The average carbon sequestration rate based on Pb-210 dating was 79 g C m(-2) year(-1), with slightly higher rates based on Cs-137 dating. There was little difference in the sequestration rates among sites or across stations within sites, indicating that a single carbon sequestration rate could be used for crediting tidal wetland restoration projects within the Estuary.
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