Key Sentence:
- Reflooding coastal wetlands could provide an opportunity to “work with nature” and use rising sea levels to combat climate change, scientists say.
- An ongoing study of coastal marshes in Scotland has demonstrated the potential to block carbon emissions in silt.
Part of the RSPB Skinflats reserve near Karawang was restored in 2018. “It is now almost indistinguishable from the salt marshes that have existed for hundreds of years,” said Alison Leonard of the RSPB. William Austin and Lucy Miller of the University of St. Andrews sampled salt marsh mud. After the water found its way, Ms. Leonard explains that “nature does its job.”
“We’re seeing how the wildlife reacts,” he said.
Professor William Austin of the University of St. Andrews, who studies the natural restoration of the site, says that the “return of the ocean into” creates habitat. And an opportunity to conserve what is known as blue carbon. “This is carbon stored in plants and soil,” he explains. “This [salt pot] is a place where there is a buildup of carbon that should be in the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.
“We can count the types of plants here, we can count the animals. We can see the wading birds that are starting to come in and take advantage of the place,” he told news. “But apart from positive changes in nature, we are seeing an accumulation of carbon-rich organic matter in the soil. That’s why this habitat is of great interest to us.” After the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow. He suggested protecting, restoring, and even creating new wetlands could be a valuable part of Scotland’s net-zero emissions effort.
“These locations absorb some of these greenhouse gases for us. So we have to work together with nature to achieve this net-zero balance,” he said. “But in the meantime, of course, we have to reduce our emissions.”