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Fingerprinting blue carbon: Rationale and tools to determine the source of organic carbon in marine depositional environments
journal contribution
posted on 2022-11-16, 22:55 authored by NR Geraldi, A Ortega, O Serrano, Peter MacreadiePeter Macreadie, CE Lovelock, D Krause-Jensen, H Kennedy, PS Lavery, ML Pace, J Kaal, CM DuarteBlue carbon is the organic carbon in oceanic and coastal ecosystems that is captured on centennial to millennial timescales. Maintaining and increasing blue carbon is an integral component of strategies to mitigate global warming. Marine vegetated ecosystems (especially seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and tidal marshes) are blue carbon hotspots and their degradation and loss worldwide have reduced organic carbon stocks and increased CO2 emissions. Carbon markets, and conservation and restoration schemes aimed at enhancing blue carbon sequestration and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, will be aided by knowing the provenance and fate of blue carbon. We review and critique current methods and the potential of nascent methods to track the provenance and fate of organic carbon, including: bulk isotopes, compound-specific isotopes, biomarkers, molecular properties, and environmental DNA (eDNA). We find that most studies to date have used bulk isotopes to determine provenance, but this approach often cannot distinguish the contribution of different primary producers to organic carbon in depositional marine environments. Based on our assessment, we recommend application of multiple complementary methods. In particular, the use of carbon and nitrogen isotopes of lipids along with eDNA have a great potential to identify the source and quantify the contribution of different primary producers to sedimentary organic carbon in marine ecosystems. Despite the promising potential of these new techniques, further research is needed to validate them. This critical overview can inform future research to help underpin methodologies for the implementation of blue carbon focused climate change mitigation schemes.
History
Journal
Frontiers in Marine ScienceVolume
6Article number
263Pagination
1-9Location
Lausanne, SwitzerlandPublisher DOI
ISSN
2296-7745eISSN
2296-7745Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2019, Geraldi, Ortega, Serrano, Macreadie, Lovelock, Krause-Jensen, Kennedy, Lavery, Pace, Kaal and Duarte.Issue
MayPublisher
Frontiers MediaUsage metrics
Keywords
blue carboncarbon accountingCOASTALenvironmental DNAEnvironmental SciencesEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyFOODHYDROGENisotopesLife Sciences & BiomedicineMarine & Freshwater BiologyMATTER SOURCESorganic carbonOXYGEN-ISOTOPE RATIOSPATTERNSScience & TechnologySEDIMENTARY DNAsequestrationSTABLE-ISOTOPESTERRESTRIALWATER SOURCESBlue carbonCarbon accountingEnvironmental DNAIsotopesOrganic carbonSequestration13 Climate ActionSchool of Life and Environmental SciencesCentre for Integrative EcologyFaculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment3103 Ecology3199 Other biological sciencesOceanographyEcology
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