Webinar - No Longer just the Swamp of Sadness: An Insight into the Value of Forested Ecosystems (swamps) as Natural Climate Solutions

Authors
Scott Davidson
Resource Date:
2023

Presented by Dr Scott J Davidson, Lecturer in Ecosystem Resilience, University of Plymouth

Swamps are a highly significant wetland type in North America both in terms of areal extent and their role in terrestrial carbon cycling. However, there is a significant lack of studies focused on swamp carbon dynamics despite their abundance. Uncertainties in the role of swamps in carbon uptake and release continue to be substantial due to insufficient data on variabilities in carbon densities across diverse swamp types and relatively few flux measurements from swamp sites. Robust evidence of carbon sequestration, alongside measurements of carbon losses from swamps, are needed for emerging frameworks for carbon accounting, and for assessments of the impacts of climate warming and land use change on this important wetland type. This presentation will discuss the importance of swamp ecosystems and their potentially unrecognized role as a natural climate solution.