A study, led by Restore America’s Estuaries in partnership with several leading conservation agencies and organizations including Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Tampa Bay Watch, reinforces the importance of restoring coastal habitats in Tampa Bay and around the nation to buffer the effects of rising seas and a changing climate. By the year 2100 seagrasses, marshes and mangroves in Tampa Bay are expected to remove 74 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – an amount equivalent to removing 160,000 cars off the road every year until 2100.
The study includes locally collected data, models the impacts of sea-level rise over the next 100 years, and provides management recommendations for adaptation planning. This highlights the substantial contribution that Tampa Bay coastal habitats provide for capturing and storing carbon, and provides new data to help local organizations and agencies understand what actions are needed most to help the Bay mitigate the effects of sea-level rise, while continuing to improve habitat health and the Bay’s overall environmental and economic integrity.
Access the report online at https://www.estuaries.org/bluecarbon-resources.