Carbon bombs buried into coastal ecosystem, hazardous for environment

Disturbing ancient carbon stores buried deep in coastal ecosystems can trigger the release of destructive greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, according to a new Australian research.

The findings by researchers of the Melbourne-based Deakin University, show coastal ecosystems, which are more effective than trees at capturing carbon, are more fragile than previously thought, and could in fact contribute to global warming if the 'blue' carbon that's been long stored away in mudflats and wetlands is disturbed.

Peter Macreadie, lead researcher and head of Deakin's Blue Carbon Lab, said the new research showed environmental disturbances such as dredging, wetland drainage and major storms that expose coastal sediments to oxygen could activate long dormant microbes that release blue carbon.

"This would be a disastrous outcome for the environment," Macreadie said.

"We know blue carbon ecosystems are carbon sinks: that is, they store carbon. But, we didn't know what happened if the really old carbon was disturbed. We now have the data to demonstrate how unstable it really is."
"We now know the development of blue carbon ecosystems needs to factor in the risk of greenhouse gas emissions and the significant impact on the environment and look at ways to potentially off-set this through better environmental management."