A Cefas tweet announced a new two page Cefas Science summary briefing and full report just published by Defra which documents and helps understanding the carbon stocks and fluxes of marine “blue carbon” habitats in UK waters.

The ocean and climate are closely linked through the global carbon cycle, with marine processes both removing and adding carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases from or to the atmosphere.  Marine and coastal habitats and offshore sediments that can act as carbon sinks and help mitigate climate change, are being referred to as blue carbon habitats.  Safeguarding blue carbon uptake and storage therefore helps to mitigate global warming, ocean acidification and sea-level rise.  Their protection or restoration may act as a significant potential ‘nature-based solution’ (NbS) to tackling and mitigate against climate change.

The overview provided by the Cefas documents of carbon storage services delivered by different blue carbon habitats (saltmarsh, intertidal and subtidal sediments, seagrass, kelp and continental slope), and how different activities influence this process, is a “fundamental requirement to the effective management of this component of the marine system. A significant evidence gap has been a baseline understanding of present stocks and fluxes associated with blue carbon habitats in Secretary of State waters (the waters for which the Secretary of State has responsibility: the English inshore and offshore and Northern Ireland offshore zones) and UK Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); a gap this report addresses through an extensive review of the relevant literature”.  Click here for full report  and here for 2 page summary.