Impacts of sea level rise on blue carbon ecosystems

The impacts of climate change and sea-level rise have become an increasing threat to coastal ecosystems that are vital for human existence on Pacific Island Countries. These coastal ecosystems include seagrass meadows and mangrove forests. These ecosystems, along with temperate salt marshes, are collectively called blue carbon ecosystems; where blue carbon refers to the carbon captured by the ocean and these coastal ecosystems. In addition to blue carbon capture benefits, intact mangroves also provide food, fiber, fuel, and protect coastal infrastructure from sea level rise, tsunamis, and typhoons.

This presentation covers what blue carbon is (and isn’t), how sea level rise impacts these ecosystems, and how we are monitoring their response. This data can then be used to build models to predict which mangroves will be most resilient (or most vulnerable) to sea level rise.

Dr. Rich MacKenzie is a mangrove ecologist working as the State Department’s Blue Carbon Climate Change Fellow in the Republic of Palau. He is responsible for providing technical assistance to Palau and other Pacific Island countries on issues related to climate change and blue carbon ecosystems. Dr. MacKenzie has been conducting research in Micronesian mangrove ecosystems for the last 20 years with the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in Hilo, Hawaii. His research focuses on assessing mangrove vulnerability to sea level rise, identifying important drivers of carbon burial in mangroves as well as mangrove response to sea level rise, and assessing fish, plant, and carbon dynamics.