Valuing carbon sequestration in coastal margin habitats - ECSA · PDF fileLaurence Jones, Angus Garbutt, Nicola Beaumont, & co-workers Valuing carbon sequestration in coastal margin

Laurence Jones, Angus Garbutt, Nicola Beaumont, & co-workers

Valuing carbon sequestration in coastal margin

habitats

Why the coast is important to Wales

• 3 % of Wales’ land area

• Seaside tourism accounted for 42% of all

domestic tourism spend in Wales

• 100,000 direct and indirect jobs, nearly £5bn

per annum income to businesses and a

contribution of £1.5bn to Wales’ GDP

• Sea defence by sand dunes is worth £54 –

199 million in Wales

• High rates of carbon sequestration

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

1900 1950 2000 2050

Wal

es a

rea

(ha)

Sand dunes

Saltmarsh

Habitat loss

Jones et al. 2011. Coastal Margins, UK NEA.

• Coastal margin habitat has

declined by 30% since 1900

• Previous losses were due to

rapid coastal development

(industry, housing, tourism,

agricultural land claim)

• Most future losses will be due

to sea level rise and further

development

Distribution

Sand dune carbon stocks

Dunes:

• ~15 sites

• Soil profile to 15 cm

depth

Saltmarsh carbon stocks

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Soil

de

pth

(cm

)

%Loss On Ignition

Saltmarsh:

• 18 sites

• Soil profile to 30 cm depth

• Extrapolated to 50 (100 ) cm

depth

Data: Matt Lundquist

Carbon stocks in Wales’ dunes and saltmarsh

-700

-600

-500

-400

-300

-200

-100

0

100

Dry dunesWet dune

slacks Saltmarsh

10

00

to

nn

es

Car

bo

n

SoilC

BelowGround

AboveGround

Carbon sequestration rates

Dunes: 59.5 +/- 25.8 g C m-2 yr-1

Saltmarsh: 64 - 219 g C m-2 yr-1 Chmura et al. 2003

Jones et al. (2008) Plant & Soil.

Valuing coastal carbon (UK)

• Non-traded shadow price of Carbon £55 /t CO2 (2010)

• Avoided damage cost

Dunes: 18.36 - 45.9 £/ha/yr

Saltmarsh: 34.56 - 118.26 £/ha/yr

Value of annual CO2 sequestration / yr

The consequences of habitat loss

Dunes Saltmarsh CO2 sequestered (t) 9,073,000 13,955,000 CO2 released (t) 1,433,000 4,027,000 Net CO2 stored (t) 7,640,000 9,929,000 Lost value due to habitat loss (£m) £64m £179m

Scenario period 2000 - 2060

Conclusions

N.J. Beaumont et al. (2014) Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 137, 32-40

Thank you

• Dunes and saltmarsh sequester carbon at a high rate • Habitat loss has implications for carbon storage • This approach provides a methodology for valuing loss of both stocks and future sequestration potential •BUT Carbon isn’t the only service & we need to consider the trade-offs with biodiversity, tourism, etc.