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BlueCAM is an Australian coastal wetland restoration methodology for estimating atmospheric warming abatement. However, BlueCAM is incomplete and contains conceptual and formulation errors. Conceptually, sequestration may be under-stated by not accounting for an increase in animal biomass and baseline ecosystems as heterotrophic carbon sources. Or, more likely, sequestration services are significantly overestimated by not considering: (1) remineralization of allochthonous carbon, sup-plied from surrounding ecosystems; (2) the subtraction of a notable intrinsically recalcitrant allochthonous carbon fraction;(3) whether baseline ecosystems are autotrophic carbon sinks; and (4) the reduction in air–sea flux during periods of submersion. Erroneously, BlueCAM: (1) implies that any remains of labile allochthonous carbon should be subtracted from stocks, not just the recalcitrant fraction; and (2) does not embed additional warming from CH4 emissions within components of net ecosystem production. Taken together, these errors are likely to greatly overestimate both wetland sequestration and warming abatement services.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	abatement, blue carbon, mangrove, restoration, salt marsh, wetland methodology
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Climate change impacts and adaptation
Research Field:	Carbon sequestration science
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Marine systems and management
Objective Field:	Assessment and management of pelagic marine ecosystems
UTAS Author:	Gallagher, JB (Dr John Barry Gallagher)
ID Code:	154722
Year Published:	2022
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2022-12-28
Last Modified:	2023-01-16
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