The economic value of fisheries, blue carbon, and nutrient cycling in global marine forests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Ezequiel Marzinelli ◽  
Rodrigo Baes ◽  
Caitlin Blain ◽  
Laura Blamey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Nitrogen Removal ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
Change Mitigation

Underwater kelp forests have provided valuable ecosystem services for millennia. However, the global economic value of those services is largely unresolved. Kelp forests are also diminishing globally and efforts to manage these valuable resources are hindered without accurate estimates of the services kelp forests provide to society. We present the first global economic estimation of services - fisheries production, nutrient cycling, and carbon removal - provided by four major forest forming kelp genera (Macrocystis, Nereocystis, Ecklonia, and Laminaria). Each of these genera provides between $135,200 and $177,100/ ha/ year. Collectively, they contribute $684 billion/year worldwide. These values are primarily driven by fisheries and nitrogen removal, but kelp forests also have the potential to sequester 2.7 megatons of carbon from the atmosphere/year and may be considered blue carbon systems valuable for climate change mitigation. These findings highlight the value of kelp forests to society and will enable informed marine management decisions.

Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

2019 ◽  
pp. 965-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Serrano ◽  
Jeffrey J. Kelleway ◽  
Catherine Lovelock ◽  
Paul S. Lavery
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Change Mitigation

Climate Change and Conservation in Brazil: CGE Evaluation of Health and Wealth Impacts

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhrendu K. Pattanayak ◽  
Martin T. Ross ◽  
Brooks M. Depro ◽  
Simone C. Bauch ◽  
Christopher Timmins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Cge Modeling ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Change Mitigation

Abstract Ecosystem services are public goods that frequently constitute the only source of capital for the poor, who lack political voice. As a result, provision of ecosystem services is sub-optimal and estimation of their values is complicated. We examine how econometric estimation can feed computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling to estimate health-related ecosystem values. Against a back drop of climate change, we analyze the Brazilian policy to expand National Forests (FLONAS) by 50 million hectares. Because these major environmental changes can generate spillovers in other sectors, we develop and use a CGE model that focuses on land and labor markets. Compared to climate change and deforestation in the baseline, the FLONAS scenario suggests relatively small declines in GDP, output (including agriculture) and other macro indicators. Urban households will experience declines in their welfare because they own most of the capital and land, which allows them to capture most of the deforestation benefits. In contrast, even though rural households have fewer opportunities for subsistence agriculture and face additional competition with other rural agricultural workers for more limited employment, their welfare improves due to health benefits from conservation of nearby forests. The efficiency vs. equity tradeoffs implied by the FLONAS scenario suggests that health-related ecosystem services will be underprovided if the rural poor are politically weaker than the urban rich. In conclusion, we briefly discuss the pros and cons of the CGE strategy for valuing ecosystem-mediated health benefits and evaluating contemporary policies on climate change mitigation.

scholarly journals The Utility of Sentinel-2 Spectral Data in Quantifying Above-Ground Carbon Stock in an Urban Reforested Landscape

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 4281
Author(s):  
Mthembeni Mngadi ◽  
John Odindi ◽  
Onisimo Mutanga
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spectral Data ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Sentinel 2

The transformation of the natural landscape into an impervious surface due to urbanization has often been considered an important driver of environmental change, affecting essential urban ecological processes and ecosystem services. Continuous forest degradation and deforestation due to urbanization have led to an increase in atmospheric carbon emissions, risks, and impacts associated with climate change within urban landscapes and beyond them. Hence, urban reforestation has become a reliable long-term alternative for carbon sink and climate change mitigation. However, there is an urgent need for spatially accurate and concise quantification of these forest carbon stocks in order to understand and effectively monitor the accumulation and progress on such ecosystem services. Hence, this study sought to examine the prospect of Sentinel-2 spectral data in quantifying carbon stock in a reforested urban landscape using the random forest ensemble. Results show that Sentinel-2 spectral data estimated reforested forest carbon stock to an RMSE between 0.378 and 0.466 t·ha−1 and R2 of 79.82 and 77.96% using calibration and validation datasets. Based on random forest variable selection and backward elimination approaches, the red-edge normalized difference vegetation index, enhanced vegetation index, modified simple ratio index, and normalized difference vegetation index were the best subset of predictor variables of carbon stock. These findings demonstrate the value and prospects of Sentinel-2 spectral data for predicting carbon stock in reforested urban landscapes. This information is critical for adopting informed management policies and plans for optimizing urban reforested landscapes carbon sequestration capacity and improving their climate change mitigation potential.

scholarly journals Restoration of degraded grasslands, but not invasion by Prosopis juliflora, avoids trade-offs between climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Purity Rima Mbaabu ◽  
Daniel Olago ◽  
Maina Gichaba ◽  
Sandra Eckert ◽  
René Eschen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Prosopis Juliflora ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractGrassland degradation and the concomitant loss of soil organic carbon is widespread in tropical arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Afforestation of degraded grassland, sometimes by using invasive alien trees, has been put forward as a legitimate climate change mitigation strategy. However, even in cases where tree encroachment of degraded grasslands leads to increased soil organic carbon, it may come at a high cost since the restoration of grassland-characteristic biodiversity and ecosystem services will be blocked. We assessed how invasion by Prosopis juliflora and restoration of degraded grasslands in a semi-arid region in Baringo, Kenya affected soil organic carbon, biodiversity and fodder availability. Thirty years of grassland restoration replenished soil organic carbon to 1 m depth at a rate of 1.4% per year and restored herbaceous biomass to levels of pristine grasslands, while plant biodiversity remained low. Invasion of degraded grasslands by P. juliflora increased soil organic carbon primarily in the upper 30 cm and suppressed herbaceous vegetation. We argue that, in contrast to encroachment by invasive alien trees, restoration of grasslands in tropical semi-arid regions can both serve as a measure for climate change mitigation and help restore key ecosystem services important for pastoralists and agro-pastoralist communities.

scholarly journals Mangrove blue carbon strategies for climate change mitigation are most effective at the national scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 20180251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Taillardat ◽  
Daniel A. Friess ◽  
Massimo Lupascu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Nationally Determined Contributions ◽  
Natural Carbon ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Fossil Fuel Emissions

Carbon fixed by vegetated coastal ecosystems (blue carbon) can mitigate anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, though its effectiveness differs with the spatial scale of interest. A literature review compiling carbon sequestration rates within key ecosystems confirms that blue carbon ecosystems are the most efficient natural carbon sinks at the plot scale, though some overlooked biogeochemical processes may lead to overestimation. Moreover, the limited spatial extent of coastal habitats minimizes their potential at the global scale, only buffering 0.42% of the global fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2014. Still, blue carbon plays a role for countries with moderate fossil fuel emissions and extensive coastlines. In 2014, mangroves mitigated greater than 1% of national fossil fuel emissions for countries such as Bangladesh, Colombia and Nigeria. Considering that the Paris Agreement is based on nationally determined contributions, we propose that mangrove blue carbon may contribute to climate change mitigation at this scale in some instances alongside other blue carbon ecosystems.

scholarly journals Contribution of Ecosystem Services to Air Quality and Climate Change Mitigation Policies: The Case of Urban Forests in Barcelona, Spain

AMBIO ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesc Baró ◽  
Lydia Chaparro ◽  
Erik Gómez-Baggethun ◽  
Johannes Langemeyer ◽  
David J. Nowak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Policies

Quantification of blue carbon in seagrass ecosystems of Southeast Asia and their potential for climate change mitigation

2021 ◽  
pp. 146858
Author(s):  
Milica Stankovic ◽  
Rohani Ambo-Rappe ◽  
Filipo Carly ◽  
Floredel Dangan-Galon ◽  
Miguel D. Fortes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Seagrass Ecosystems ◽  
Change Mitigation

scholarly journals Co-benefits of protecting mangroves for biodiversity conservation and carbon storage

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Martin Zimmer ◽  
Imran Ahmed ◽  
Daniel Donato ◽  
Mamoru Kanzaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Ecosystem Carbon ◽  
Sediment Organic Carbon ◽  
Change Mitigation

AbstractThe conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity has numerous co-benefits, both for local societies and for humankind worldwide. While the co-benefit of climate change mitigation through so called blue carbon storage in coastal ecosystems has raised increasing interest in mangroves, the relevance of multifaceted biodiversity as a driver of carbon storage remains unclear. Sediment salinity, taxonomic diversity, functional diversity and functional distinctiveness together explain 69%, 69%, 27% and 61% of the variation in above- and belowground plant biomass carbon, sediment organic carbon and total ecosystem carbon storage, respectively, in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest. Functional distinctiveness had the strongest explanatory power for carbon storage, indicating that blue carbon in mangroves is driven by the functional composition of diverse tree assemblages. Protecting and restoring mangrove biodiversity with site-specific dominant species and other species of contrasting functional traits would have the co-benefit of maximizing their capacity for climate change mitigation through increased carbon storage.

scholarly journals Assessment of Carbon Stock in Forest Biomass and Emission Reduction Potential in Malaysia

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1294
Author(s):  
Asif Raihan ◽  
Rawshan Ara Begum ◽  
Mohd Nizam Mohd Said ◽  
Joy Jacqueline Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Change Mitigation

Malaysia has a large extent of forest cover that plays a crucial role in storing biomass carbon and enhancing carbon sink (carbon sequestration) and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to reduce the negative impacts of global climate change. This article estimates the economic value of forest carbon stock and carbon value per hectare of forested area based on the price of removing per ton CO2eq in USD from 1990 to 2050. The economic value of biomass carbon stored in the forests is estimated at nearly USD 51 billion in 2020 and approximately USD 41 billion in 2050, whereas carbon value per hectare forest area is estimated at USD 2885 in 2020 and USD 2388 in 2050. If the BAU scenario of forest loss (converting forests to other land use) continues, the projected estimation of carbon stock and its economic value might fall until 2050 unless further initiatives on proper planning of forest management and ambitious policy implementation are taken. Instead, Malaysia’s CO2 emission growth started to fall after 2010 due to rising forest carbon sink of 282 million tons between 2011 and 2016, indicating a huge potential of Malaysian forests for future climate change mitigation. The estimated and projected value of carbon stock in Malaysian forest biomass, annual growth of forest carbon, forest carbon density and carbon sink would be useful for the better understanding of enhancing carbon sink by avoiding deforestation, sustainable forest management, forest conservation and protection, accurate reporting of national carbon inventories and policy-making decisions. The findings of this study could also be useful in meeting emission reduction targets and policy implementation related to climate change mitigation in Malaysia.

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