Seagrass meadows on the west coast of Vancouver Island store substantially less carbon than seagrass sites in other parts of the world, according to a new study by Simon Fraser University and Parks Canada researchers.
Seagrasses use photosynthesis to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it in their leaves, roots and the sediment below them. Because of their ability to store this ‘blue carbon,’ seagrass meadows have been touted as an important way to combat climate change.
ut critics argue that seagrass blue carbon may be dramatically overestimated in northern systems, and may not store as much carbon as once thought.
In the summer of 2016, a team of researchers from SFU and Parks Canada were funded by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to get the first measurements of how much blue carbon is stored in seagrasses in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and Clayoquot Sound.
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Image via Simon Fraser University.