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Abstract

Wetlands are important in global carbon cycling because they accumulate carbon in wood and soil organic matter, but they also emit methane, CH444, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) (Bridgham et al. 2006). Tidal wetlands are a potentially effective sink for carbon through accretionary processes both in response to sea-level rise or via restoration (Chmura et al. 2003, Duarte et al. 2005, Crooks et al. 2009). Tidal wetlands also have low methane emissions, making restoration of these wetlands a promising technique for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Research to date on tidal wetland carbon dynamics has been uncoordinated geographically and narrowly focused. Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions are complicated as belowground biomass accumulation and methane production increase from saline to freshwater tidal settings (Bridgham et al. 2006). There is a real need not only to synthesize work in different parts of the country and on different aspects of wetland carbon budgets, but also to incorporate understanding from multiple fields into an integrated model of wetland carbon dynamics, including production, decomposition, sequestration and greenhouse gas GHG emissions. An integrated model would provide the scientific framework to guide wetland climate change mitigation and adaptation policies on many scales. State, regional, national and international initiatives are rapidly being implemented to reduce GHG emissions through cap-and-trade systems. Carbon offset protocols are essential for any carbon trading program, which requires development of reliable, quantified performance standards. Sale of the carbon offsets from tidal wetland restoration projects could be a significant new funding mechanism for restoration, with billions of dollars of offsets expected to be sold in the next five years. The proposed working group will evaluate and test the potential to develop empirically-based and process-based models of carbon dynamics that identify variations in sequestration and emissions across gradients of salinity, inundation, tidal range, and suspended sediment supply. The working group will include experts in a wide range of fields, including the development of carbon offset protocols, to ensure that the products of the working group will directly integrate with GHG emissions reduction programs.