The underwater kelp forests that line Canada’s coastlines may offer an untapped option for natural climate solutions, a new study led by University of Victoria shows, in the first national assessment of the country’s kelp ecosystems.
The underwater kelp forests that line Canada’s coastlines may offer an untapped option for natural climate solutions, a new study led by University of Victoria shows, in the first national assessment of the country’s kelp ecosystems.
The research team set out to estimate how much carbon the ecosystems might be capturing and storing in the ocean, and whether that carbon stays out of the atmosphere long enough to be considered a natural climate solution. Using aerial and satellite maps of kelp occurrences, and measurements of kelp productivity, and coastal ocean transport models, the team built a national kelp forest database to take stock of the carbon that gets absorbed, stored, and exported from Canada’s kelp forests to natural carbon sinks in the ocean.
“Kelp forests are increasingly being positioned as a source of natural climate solutions because they could help us tackle climate change by storing more carbon in the ocean,” says Jennifer McHenry, lead investigator and UVic postdoctoral research fellow with Blue Carbon Canada.
Read more at: University of Victoria
