As you’ll see everywhere else in this issue, a wetland system isn’t just another lovely place for a nature walk. Wetland ecosystems protect us from storms and floods, they provide vital nursery grounds for fish and other marine life, and they are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. An immense variety of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals compose our local wetland ecosystems. And wetlands can even reveal the history of earthquakes and tsunamis in their sediments.

We also know that wetlands provide another vital service — sequestering and storing carbon from the atmosphere — and therefore are an essential piece of the solution to global climate change.

See the Table of Contents below for other articles in this issue that address these topics.

“Blue carbon” is simply a term for carbon dioxide that is captured from the atmosphere by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems and stored in the form of biomass and sediments. We now know that human activities give off carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas once it enters the atmosphere. The good news is that our oceans and coastal wetlands provide a natural way of reducing the impact of these gases on our climate through sequestration (or capturing) of this carbon.

Sea grasses, mud flats, kelp, and tidal marshes along our coast capture and hold carbon, acting as a carbon sink. These coastal systems, though much smaller in size, sequester this carbon at a much faster rate than rain forests, and can continue to do so for millions of years.  Most of the carbon taken up by these ecosystems is stored below ground where we can’t see it, but it is still there locked safely away.

Let’s talk about the basics of carbon capture.

Referring to the illustration above, the entire process begins in upland forests and other upstream sources. The plants grab carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, and carbon in the water upstream flows downstream.

All those dead leaves, needles, and branches that you walk on or step over on your forest walks are in the process of becoming deep ocean sediments! As trees, shrubs, and animals die, the carbon compounds in their leaves, limbs, and bodies decompose and return to the earth where the rains wash them downhill to rivers and streams, stopping in wetlands along the way.

Eventually, this “recycled” carbon reaches marshes and estuaries, becoming food for other creatures. Over time, this carbon-containing biomass reaches the deep blue sea, where it is held safely away for a very long time.

Consider for a moment how this would be different if the trees in the upland forest had burned instead of living out their natural lives. Instead of being used and reused and ultimately stored safely away at the bottom of the sea, the carbon in those trees would have gone directly into the atmosphere, adding to the greenhouse effect and continuing to overheat our planet!

So, how exactly do healthy coastal wetlands mitigate climate change? That was the question that sparked John Rybczyk’s research at Western Washington University. This video, filmed in the Snohomish Estuary in Puget Sound and presented by EarthCorps and Restore America’s Estuaries, is one of the best examples I’ve seen about the important work being done in our region to restore all the functions of a wetland, including carbon sequestration.

After watching this video and reading all the great articles in the rest of this issue, I hope that the next time you hear the phrase, “Drain the swamp!”, your immediate response will be, “No! We must never do that again!”

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 We also don't advertise Salish Magazine, so please spread the word of this online resource to your friends and colleagues.

Thanks so much for your interest and your support. 

Hart, Curt and Marcus Humberg. Healthy Wetlands Mean a Healthy Salish Sea, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Miller, Ian and Carrie Garrison-Laney. Records of Earthquakes and Tsunamis Found in Salish Sea Coastal Wetlands, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Noland, Sara and Thomas Noland. From Swamps and Bogs to Marshes and Meadows, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Pegany, Sharon and Paul Pegany. Newts: Wetland Magicians, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Stricklin, Frank. Wetland Basics, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Wozniak, Josh. The Importance of Wetlands, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020

Fleming, Melissa and Terry Pereida. Carpenter Creek Salt Marsh, Salish Magazine, Autumn 2020