Carbon storage in US wetlands

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Soil Science
• Ecology

Background:

• Wetland soils are critical global carbon reservoirs, yet their storage quantities and distribution remain poorly understood.
• Human disturbances may significantly impact the stability of carbon stocks in wetland ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate soil carbon stocks in wetlands across regional and national scales in the conterminous United States.
• To investigate the influence of human disturbance on wetland soil carbon storage.

Main Methods:

• Utilized field data from the 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment.
• Calculated unbiased estimates of soil carbon stocks at regional and national levels.

Main Results:

• Wetlands in the conterminous U.S. store approximately 11.52 petagrams of carbon (PgC), predominantly in soils deeper than 30 cm.
• Freshwater inland wetlands contain nearly ten times more carbon than tidal saltwater wetlands, underscoring their importance for regional carbon sequestration.
• A potential correlation between carbon stocks and anthropogenic disturbance was observed.

Conclusions:

• Wetland ecosystems, particularly freshwater inland types, represent substantial carbon sinks.
• Conservation of wetlands is essential to prevent the release of stored carbon and mitigate climate change.
• Further research into the effects of human disturbance on wetland carbon dynamics is warranted.