Taillardat et al. (2020) - Restoration cost database V5.xlsx from Climate change mitigation potential of wetlands and the cost-effectiveness of their restoration

• Main Authors: Pierre Taillardat, Benjamin S. Thompson, Michelle Garneau, Karelle Trottier, Daniel A. Friess
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Geochemistry; Environmental Science; Atmospheric Sciences not elsewhere classified; carbon dioxide removal; Paris agreement; ecological restoration; peatland; blue carbon; nature-based solutions; Tundra
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12553778.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Taillardat_et_al_2020_-_Restoration_cost_database_V5_xlsx_from_Climate_change_mitigation_potential_of_wetlands_and_the_cost-effectiveness_of_their_restoration/12553778

The cost-effective mitigation of climate change through nature-based carbon dioxide removal strategies has gained substantial policy attention. Inland and coastal wetlands (specifically boreal, temperate and tropical peatlands; tundra; floodplains; freshwater marshes; saltmarshes and mangroves) are among the most efficient natural long-term carbon sinks, yet they also release methane (CH 4 ) that can offset the carbon they sequester. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis on wetland carbon dynamics to (i) determine the role they play on climate and discuss their suitability for inclusion in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) mitigation policies; (ii) investigate the cost-effectiveness of wetland restoration for climate change mitigation strategies. Depending on metrics, a wetland can simultaneously be a net carbon sink (i.e. boreal and temperate peatlands net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) = −28.1 ± 19.13 gC m −2 y −1 ) but have a net warming effect on climate at the 100 years time-scale (i.e. boreal and temperate peatland sustained global warming potential (SGWP) = 298.2 ± 100.6 gCO 2 eq −1 m −2 y −1 ). This ambivalence shows that the choice of metric can lead to misinterpretation on the effect of wetlands on global temperature. Moreover, our review report high heterogeneity and a still limited number of studies that document wetland carbon budgets. In this study, we demonstrate that most coastal and inland wetlands have a net cooling effect as of today. This is explained by the limited CH 4 emissions that undisturbed coastal wetlands produce and the short lifetime of CH 4 in the atmosphere, compared with long-term carbon sequestration for older inland wetlands. Analysis of wetland restoration costs relative to the amount of carbon they can sequester revealed that restoration is more cost-effective in coastal wetlands such as mangroves (US$1800 ton C −1 ) compared with inland wetlands (US$ 4200–49 200 ton C −1 ). For inland wetlands, priority should be given to conservation rather than restoration, while for coastal ...