scholarly journals Estimating the Effects of a Hurricane on Carbon Storage in Mangrove Wetlands in Southwest Florida

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1749
Author(s):  
Lauren N. Griffiths ◽  
William J. Mitsch
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Forest Community ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Mangrove Swamps ◽  
Aboveground Productivity ◽  
Mangrove Wetlands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Naples Bay ◽  
Hurricane Irma

Tropical and subtropical mangrove swamps, under normal conditions, can sequester large amounts of carbon in their soils but as coastal wetlands, they are prone to hurricane disturbances. This study adds to the understanding of carbon storage capabilities of mangrove wetlands and explores how these capacities might change within the scope of a changing storm climate. In September 2017, Naples Bay, FL, USA (28°5′ N, 81°47′ W) encountered a direct hit from hurricane Irma, a Saffir–Simpson category 3 storm. By comparing carbon storage, forest community structure, and aboveground productivity collected in 2013 and in 2019, we estimated the effects of hurricane Irma on mangrove functions. Aboveground biomass increased during the study period at a rate of approximately 0.72 kg m−2 yr−1, significantly less than the average found in undisturbed mangrove forests. Soil carbon storage decreased at all study sites. On average, 2.7 kg-C m−2 was lost in the top 20 cm between sample collections. Carbon loss in belowground pools could point to a feedback of mangrove swamps on climate change as they lose their ability to store carbon and increase net atmospheric carbon. Nevertheless, mangrove swamps remain resilient to tropical storms in the long term and can recover their carbon storage capacity in the years following a storm.

scholarly journals Organic carbon inventories in natural and restored Ecuadorian mangrove forests

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda G DelVecchia ◽  
John F Bruno ◽  
Larry K Benninger ◽  
Marc Alperin ◽  
Ovik Banerjee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Content ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Storage Potential ◽  
Sediment Carbon

Because mangroves can capture and store organic carbon, their protection and restoration is an obvious component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangrove forests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks.

scholarly journals Organic carbon inventories in natural and restored Ecuadorian mangrove forests

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda G DelVecchia ◽  
John F Bruno ◽  
Larry K Benninger ◽  
Marc Alperin ◽  
Ovik Banerjee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Content ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Storage Potential ◽  
Sediment Carbon

Because mangroves can capture and store organic carbon, their protection and restoration is an obvious component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangrove forests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks.

scholarly journals Above- and Below-Ground Carbon Storage of Hydrologically Altered Mangrove Wetlands in Puerto Rico after a Hurricane

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1965
Author(s):  
Lauren N. Griffiths ◽  
Elix Hernandez ◽  
Elvira Cuevas ◽  
William J. Mitsch
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Mangrove Swamps ◽  
Mangrove Wetlands ◽  
Carbon Mass ◽  
Belowground Carbon ◽  
Carbon Concentrations

Mangrove wetlands are important ecosystems, yet human development coupled with climate change threatens mangroves and their large carbon stores. This study seeks to understand the soil carbon dynamics in hydrologically altered mangrove swamps by studying aboveground biomass estimates and belowground soil carbon concentrations in mangrove swamps with high, medium, and low levels of disturbance in Cataño, Jobos Bay, and Vieques, Puerto Rico. All three sites were affected by hurricane María in 2017, one year prior to the study. As a result of being hit by the Saffir-Simpson category 4 hurricane, the low-disturbance site had almost no living mangroves left during sampling. There was no correlation between level of hydrologic alteration and carbon storage, rather different patterns emerged for each of the three sites. At the highly disturbed location, belowground carbon mass averaged 0.048 ± 0.001 g-C cm−3 which increased with increased aboveground biomass. At the moderately disturbed location, belowground carbon mass averaged 0.047 ± 0.003 g-C cm−3 and corresponded to distance from open water. At the low-disturbed location, organic carbon was consistent between all sites and inorganic carbon concentrations controlled total carbon mass which averaged 0.048 ± 0.002 g-C cm−3. These results suggest that mangroves are adaptive and resilient and have the potential to retain their carbon storage capacities despite hydrologic alterations, but mass carbon storage within mangrove forests can be spatially variable in hydrologically altered conditions.

A FUNDAMENTAL STUDY ON CARBON STORAGE BY ZOSTERA MARINA IN ISE BAY, JAPAN

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Kokubu ◽  
Hideki Kokubu
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Zostera Marina ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Fundamental Study ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Ise Bay

Blue Carbon, which is carbon captured by marine organisms, has recently come into focus as an important factor for climate change initiatives. This carbon is stored in vegetated coastal ecosystems, specifically mangrove forests, seagrass beds and salt marshes. The recognition of the C sequestration value of vegetated coastal ecosystems provides a strong argument for their protection and restoration. Therefore, it is necessary to improve scientific understanding of the mechanisms that stock control C in these ecosystems. However, the contribution of Blue Carbon sequestration to atmospheric CO2 in shallow waters is as yet unclear, since investigations and analysis technology are ongoing. In this study, Blue Carbon sinks by Zostera marina were evaluated in artificial (Gotenba) and natural (Matsunase) Zostera beds in Ise Bay, Japan. 12-hour continuous in situ photosynthesis and oxygen consumption measurements were performed in both areas by using chambers in light and dark conditions. The production and dead amount of Zostera marina shoots were estimated by standing stock measurements every month. It is estimated that the amount of carbon storage as Blue Carbon was 237g-C/m2/year and 197g-C/m2/year in the artificial and natural Zostera marina beds, respectively. These results indicated that Zostera marina plays a role towards sinking Blue Carbon.

scholarly journals Vulnerable Older Adults in Disasters: Effects of Hurricane Irma on Nursing Homes and Assisted Living

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 733-734
Author(s):  
Lindsay Peterson ◽  
David Dosa ◽  
Patricia D’Antonio
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Face ◽  
Qualitative Methodologies ◽  
Hurricane Irma

Abstract Preparedness of residents in long-term care (LTC) in the face of hurricane emergencies is a contested and largely unanswered question. Our prior work involving the U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005-08 showed that exposure to various storms on nursing home (NH) residents resulted in significantly more deaths than reported by health care officials. This work also highlighted that evacuation of NH residents, compared to sheltering in place, was independently associated with morbidity and mortality. Hurricane Irma struck Florida on Sept. 10, 2017, prompting the evacuation of thousands of NH and assisted living community (ALC) residents. This symposium will discuss the effects of Hurricane Irma on vulnerable older adults residing in NHs and ALCs using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The first presentation will discuss morbidity and mortality of NH residents exposed to Hurricane Irma and will stratify by long stay/short stay status and hospice enrollment. The second presentation will discuss improvements and continued barriers to NH preparedness based on interviews with 30 administrators following Hurricane Irma. Using a novel methodology to identify residents of ALCs using secondary data sources, the third presentation will document AL resident morbidity and mortality risk following Hurricane Irma. The final presentation will highlight results of interviews with 70 stakeholders from small and large ALCs concerning the hurricane experiences of residents, including those with dementia. This symposium offers a multi-faceted view of a disaster’s effects on LTC residents across Florida, including novel data from the NH environment and lesser-examined ALCs.

Long‐term effect of tillage and straw retention in conservation agriculture systems on soil carbon storage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Gómez‐Muñoz ◽  
Lars Stoumann Jensen ◽  
Lars Munkholm ◽  
Jørgen Eivind Olesen ◽  
Elly Møller Hansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Soil Carbon Storage ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Straw Retention ◽  
Agriculture Systems

Nest cameras do not affect nest survival in a meadow-nesting shorebird

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
VOLKER SALEWSKI ◽  
LUIS SCHMIDT
Keyword(s):  
Nest Survival ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Survival Models ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Limosa Limosa ◽  
Study Sites

Summary Identifying the fate of birds’ nests and the causes of breeding failure is often crucial for the development of conservation strategies for threatened species. However, collecting these data by repeatedly visiting nests might itself contribute to nest failure or bias. To solve this dilemma, automatic cameras have increasingly been used as a time-efficient means for nest monitoring. Here, we consider whether the use of cameras itself may influence hatching success of nests of the Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa at two long-term study sites in northern Germany. Annually between 2013 and 2019, cameras were used to monitor godwit nests. In 2014 and 2019, nests were randomly equipped with cameras or not, and nest survival checked independently of the cameras. Nest-survival models indicated that survival probabilities varied between years, sites and with time of the season, but were unaffected by the presence of cameras. Even though predation is the main cause of hatching failure in our study system, we conclude that predators did not learn to associate cameras with food either when the cameras were initially installed or after they had been used for several years. Cameras were thus an effective and non-deleterious tool to collect data for conservation in this case. As other bird species may react differently to cameras at their nests, and as other sets of predators may differ in their ability to associate cameras with food, the effect of cameras on breeding success should be carefully monitored when they are used in a new study system.

scholarly journals Territorial governance of managed retreat in Sweden: addressing challenges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnel Göransson ◽  
Lisa Van Well ◽  
David Bendz ◽  
Per Danielsson ◽  
Jim Hedfors
Keyword(s):  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Case Study Site ◽  
Feasible Option ◽  
Flexible Planning ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Inland Flooding

AbstractMany climate adaptation options currently being discussed in Sweden to meet the challenge of surging seas and inland flooding advocate holding the line through various hard and soft measures to stabilize the shoreline, while managed retreat is neither considered as feasible option nor has it been explicitly researched in Sweden. However, failure to consider future flooding from climate change in municipal planning may have dangerous and costly consequences when the water does come. We suggest that managed retreat practices are challenging in Sweden, not only due to public opinions but also because of a deficit of uptake of territorial knowledge by decision-makers and difficulties in realizing flexible planning options of the shoreline. A territorial governance framework was used as a heuristic to explore the challenges to managed retreat in four urban case studies (three municipalities and one county) representing different territorial, hydrological and oceanographic environments. This was done through a series of participatory stakeholder workshops. The analysis using a territorial governance framework based on dimensions of coordination, integration, mobilization, adaptation and realization presents variations in how managed retreat barriers and opportunities are perceived among case study sites, mainly due to the differing territorial or place-based challenges. The results also indicate common challenges regardless of the case study site, including coordination challenges and unclear responsibility, the need for integrated means of addressing goal conflicts and being able to adapt flexibly to existing regulations and plans. Yet rethinking how managed retreat could boost community resilience and help to implement long-term visions was seen as a way to deal with some of the territorial challenges.

scholarly journals A method for simulating risk profiles of wheat yield in data-sparse conditions

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
G. Bracho-Mujica ◽  
P.T. Hayman ◽  
V.O. Sadras ◽  
B. Ostendorf
Keyword(s):  
Reference Site ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Risk Profiles ◽  
Record Length ◽  
Daily Weather Data ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Process-based crop models are a robust approach to assess climate impacts on crop productivity and long-term viability of cropping systems. However, these models require high-quality climate data that cannot always be met. To overcome this issue, the current research tested a simple method for scaling daily data and extrapolating long-term risk profiles of modelled crop yields. An extreme situation was tested, in which high-quality weather data was only available at one single location (reference site: Snowtown, South Australia, 33.78°S, 138.21°E), and limited weather data was available for 49 study sites within the Australian grain belt (spanning from 26.67 to 38.02°S of latitude, and 115.44 to 151.85°E of longitude). Daily weather data were perturbed with a delta factor calculated as the difference between averaged climate data from the reference site and the study sites. Risk profiles were built using a step-wise combination of adjustments from the most simple (adjusted series of precipitation only) to the most detailed (adjusted series of precipitation, temperatures and solar radiation), and a variable record length (from 10 to 100 years). The simplest adjustment and shortest record length produced bias of modelled yield grain risk profiles between −10 and 10% in 41% of the sites, which increased to 86% of the study sites with the most detailed adjustment and longest record (100 years). Results indicate that the quality of the extrapolation of risk profiles was more sensitive to the number of adjustments applied rather than the record length per se.

scholarly journals Worldwide variations in artificial skyglow

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C. M. Kyba ◽  
Kai Pong Tong ◽  
Jonathan Bennie ◽  
Ignacio Birriel ◽  
Jennifer J. Birriel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
International Monitoring ◽  
Sky Brightness ◽  
Ground Truthing ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Night Sky Brightness ◽  
Key Questions

Abstract Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions about skyglow properties. Skyglow is observed to vary over four orders of magnitude, a range hundreds of times larger than was the case before artificial light. Nearly all of the study sites were polluted by artificial light. A non-linear relationship is observed between the sky brightness on clear and overcast nights, with a change in behavior near the rural to urban landuse transition. Overcast skies ranged from a third darker to almost 18 times brighter than clear. Clear sky radiances estimated by the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness were found to be overestimated by ~25%; our dataset will play an important role in the calibration and ground truthing of future skyglow models. Most of the brightly lit sites darkened as the night progressed, typically by ~5% per hour. The great variation in skyglow radiance observed from site-to-site and with changing meteorological conditions underlines the need for a long-term international monitoring program.

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