carbon crediting for tidal marshes: projects in maryland b... · carbon crediting for tidal...
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![Page 1: Carbon Crediting for Tidal Marshes: Projects in Maryland B... · Carbon Crediting for Tidal Marshes: Projects in Maryland Brian Needelman University of Maryland Patrick Megonigal](https://reader033.vdocuments.site/reader033/viewer/2022041414/5e1a22037a1afa6c3907e348/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Carbon Crediting for Tidal
Marshes: Projects in Maryland
Brian Needelman
University of Maryland
Patrick Megonigal
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
INTECOL 9 International Wetlands Conference
June 3-8, 2012 in Orlando, Florida
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Outline
• Background on blue carbon work in Maryland
• Quantifying greenhouse gas balances in
restored marshes
– Methane emissions
– Carbon sequestration verification
• Potential carbon crediting demonstration
projects in Maryland
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Background on blue carbon
work in Maryland
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Midwest Regional Carbon
Sequestration Partnership
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Maryland Net Primary Productivity estimates based on land use class and literature values
Over 100,000 ha of
estuarine wetlands in
Maryland
Strebel, 2007
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Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(RGGI or "Reggie")
• Nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states
• Cap-and-trade program for power plants in
the region
– Compliance began 2009
– Regional emissions capped at ~1990 emissions
– Cap reduced 10% in 2018
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Carbon offsets in RGGI
• None sold to date
• Performing 2012 mandatory review
• Discussing additional offset categories
– 2012 – forestry & ozone
– 2015 – wetlands
• Process options
– Independent RGGI protocol
– Accept other protocols (e.g. VCS)
– Accept offsets from other markets
• North America 2050 Initiative (NA 2050)
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Verified Carbon Standard
• http://v-c-s.org/ -- search “wetlands restoration”
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Restore-Adapt-Mitigate:
Responding to Climate
Change through Coastal
Habitat Restoration
Download at http://www.estuaries.org/reports/
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Quantifying greenhouse gas
balances in restored marshes
• Methane emissions
• Carbon sequestration verification
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Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
1938 2005
Early photo – scanned NAPP photos provided by Dixie Birch USFW – 2005 True Color Orthophotographs
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Marsh restoration using local
dredged material
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Methane emissions at Blackwater
Megonigal, unpublished data
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Salinity versus methane flux
Hoffenbarger, Needelman & Megonigal, Wetlands, 2011
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Salinity versus methane flux
log(CH4) = -0.055* salinity + 1.36
r2 = 0.51; p < 0.0001
Hoffenbarger, Needelman & Megonigal, Wetlands, 2011
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95%
75%
25%
5%
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0 10 20 30 40
Lo
g m
eth
an
e f
lux
(g
m-2
yr-1
)
Salinity
Climate Benefits of Sequestration
Offset by Methane
Hoffenbarger, Needelman & Megonigal, Wetlands, 2011
∆ Radiative Forcing from Soil Carbon
Sequestration
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SERC Global Change Research Wetland Marsh Organ Facility
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Marsh Equilibrium Model (MEM)
Morris, in preparation
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Measuring methane emissions
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Methane Emissions from Marsh Organ Experiments
R2 = 0.809
wet rising sea level dry
• Spartina patens & Schoenoplectus americanus Community • Elevated CO2 and N Fertilized Treatments Pooled
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Marsh Equilibrium Model -- Methane (MEM-M)
Megonigal, unpublished
Elevation levels
Meth
ane e
mis
sio
ns
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Cost-realistic, statistical estimation
of carbon sequestration rates
• Traditional radionuclide methods often not
applicable
– Expensive
– Don’t represent post-restoration rates
– Limited spatial replication
• Challenges
– Cost
– Sampling depth
– Spatial variability
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Carbon sequestration rates
• Natural site
– 3.4 to 5.7 Mg/ha/yr
– Mean 4.4 Mg/ha/yr
(443 g/m2/yr)
• Restored site:
– 0.8 to 5.9 Mg/ha/yr
– Mean 3.4 Mg/ha/yr (340 g/m2 per year)
– Standard deviation 1.3 Mg/ha/yr
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Conservative quantification for
carbon crediting
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
0 10 20 30 40 50
Sample size
Me
an m
inu
s co
nfi
de
nce
inte
rval
(Mg
C/h
a/yr
)
Mean = 3.4 Mg C / ha
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Potential carbon crediting
demonstration projects in
Maryland
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Potential carbon credit demonstration:
Restoration of ditch-drained marshes
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Potential carbon credit demonstration:
Avoided losses with Blackwater NWR
Shoreline Protection
Matt Whitbeck
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Thank you
Funding
Maryland Department of Natural
Resources Power Plant Research
Program
Restore America’s Estuaries
Brian Needelman
Pat Megonigal
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Value of carbon sequestration for marsh
restoration
(3 Mg CO2/yr; 50 years)
$6,000,000 $600,000
$1,500,000 $150,000
$750,000 $75,000
400 ha 40 ha Price per Mg
CO2
$12,000,000 $1,200,000
$40.00
$10.00
$5.00
$80.00
Before subtracting baseline, methane, uncertainty, insurance, verification, …
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Volunteers planted 70,000 units combined of Olney’s 3-square (Schoenoplectus americanus), salt marsh bulrush (Schoenoplectus robustus), and smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)
May 2003
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Literature (methane flux)
• DeLaune et al. 1983
• Bartlett et al. 1985
• Bartlett et al. 1987
• Kelley et al. 1995
• Magenheimer et al. 1996
• Van der Nat and Middelburg 2000
• Neubauer et al. 2000
• Megonigal and Schlesinger 2002
• Nedwell et al. 2004
• Marsh et al. 2005
• Hirota et al. 2007
• Wang et al. 2009
• Field sites at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
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Poff
enb
arg
er,
Needleman
& M
ego
niga
l, W
etland
s 2011
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Methane emissions and
carbon sequestration equivalents
Salinity
Class
Salinity
Range
Methane emissions
(g m-2 yr-1) N
ppt Mean Min Max Std
Dev N
Fresh <0.5 42a 1 213 76 8
Oligohaline 0.5-5 179ab 5 539 243 4
Mesohaline 5-18 16bc 3 32 11 8
Polyhaline >18 1c 0.2 6 2 10
0.3
Mean Min Max
2 0.1 12
10 31
0.9 0.2 2
0.1 0.0 0.3
Carbon sequestration
equivalent of methane
emissions
(Mg C ha-1 yr-1)*
*Calculated based on a methane global warming potential of 21 (100-year time horizon).
Hoffenbarger, Needelman & Megonigal, Wetlands, 2011
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Mean Carbon Concentration
(mass basis)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Oa Oe Oi A C & Cg Trans
% C
Restored
Natural
Wills, S.A., B.A. Needelman, and R.W. Weil. Carbon distribution in restored and reference marshes at
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science. (In press)
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Bulk Density
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
Oa Oe Oi A C Trans
g c
m-3
Restored
Natural
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Organic (“O”) horizons
Mineral organic-rich (“A”) horizons
Mineral organic-poor (“C”) horizons
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Barbados Map
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Wildlife Drive Map