Table 1 Changes in soil organic carbon (Corg) stock of blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs) due to various disturbances and their comparison with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines
From: Nonuniform organic carbon stock loss in soils across disturbed blue carbon ecosystems
BCE | Disturbance regime | Soil depth with significant Corg stock loss | Emission factor for soil layers with significant Corg losses (%) | Emission factor for top one meter (%) | Dependence on initial soil Corg stock (initial Corg stock (Mg C ha−1) = x; emission factor for top one meter (%) = y) | Corresponding management in the IPCC guidelines18 | IPCC Tier 1 emission factor18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mangrove | Agriculture | Top 200 cm | −71.8 ± 19.8 | −68.4 ± 13.4 | y = 125.37 − 34.35* In(x) | Drainage | 7.9 C ha−1 yr−1 |
Aquaculture | Construction: top 66 ± 24 cm | NA | NA | NA | Extraction (Construction) | 96% | |
Use and discontinued: top 100 cm | −65.4 ± 10.6 | −65.4 ± 10.6 | y = 163.14 − 38.69* In(x) | Extraction (Use and discontinued) | Not reported | ||
Climate/hydrological change | Top 30 cm | −31.3 ± 18.7 | −32.1 ± 23.0 | Nonsignificant | Not reported | Not reported | |
Harvesting | Nonsignificant | NA | +0.8 ± 46.2 | Nonsignificant | Forest management | 0 | |
Saltmarsh | Agriculture | Nonsignificant | NA | −1.1 ± 36.1 | y = 237.57 − 52.09* In(x) | Drainage | 7.9 C ha−1 yr−1 |
Climate/hydrological change | Top 20 cm | −33.5 ± 31.9 | −25.9 ± 30.7 | Nonsignificant | Not reported | Not reported | |
Grazing | Top 10 cm | −30.4 ± 20.5 | +48.6 ± 78.7 | Nonsignificant | Not reported | Not reported | |
Seagrass | Dredging | ≥top 50 cm | −50.4 ± 29.1 (Top 50 cm) | −27.4 ± 33.6 | Nonsignificant | Extraction | 96% |
Vegetation cover damage | Top 30 cm | −32.7 ± 20.8 | −34.2 ± 22.4 | Nonsignificant | Not reported | Not reported |
