NSW Blue Carbon Permanency in Belowground Sediments

Permanency is defined as the capacity for carbon to be preserved and not reworked under conditions of higher hydrodynamic energy associated with storms and changes to tidal regimes. The permanency of carbon within substrates has been questioned (DeLaune and White, 2012; Kirwan and Mudd, 2012), particularly in the context of increased storminess. This component does not specifically indicate retreat pathways for coastal ecosystems as they respond to sea-level rise. Lower elevations on estuarine shorelines may be exposed to greater hydrodynamic energy due to fetch and wave-action, whilst coastal barrier sediments are more exposed to high wave energy of the open ocean; the exposure of these sediments to higher hydrodynamic energy increases the probability of reworking and poses considerable risk to carbon permanency.

DeLaune, R., and White, J. (2012). Will coastal wetlands continue to sequester carbon in response to an increase in global sea level?: a case study of the rapidly subsiding Mississippi river deltaic plain. Climatic Change 110, 297-314.

Kirwan, M.L., and Mudd, S.M. (2012). Response of salt-marsh carbon accumulation to climate change. Nature 489, 550-553.