TY - JOUR
T1 - Remote sensing for cost-effective blue carbon accounting
AU - Malerba, Martino E.
AU - Duarte de Paula Costa, Micheli
AU - Friess, Daniel A.
AU - Schuster, Lukas
AU - Young, Mary-Anne
AU - Lagomasino, David
AU - Serrano, Oscar
AU - Hickey, Sharyn M.
AU - York, Paul H.
AU - Rasheed, Michael
AU - Lefcheck, Jonathan S.
AU - Radford, Ben
AU - Atwood, Trisha B.
AU - Ierodiaconou, Daniel
AU - Macreadie, Peter
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Steve Crooks, Dr. Lisa Schile-Beers (Silvestrum Climate Associates), and Dr. Nate Herold (NOAA) for insightful conversations and comments. MEM was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council (DE220100752) and the Alfred Deakin Fellowship scheme. PM was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP200100575). OS was supported by I + D + i Projects (RYC2019-027073-I) and PIE HOLOCENO (20213AT014), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER. JSL was supported by the Michael E. Tennenbaum Secretarial Scholar gift to the Smithsonian Institution. This is contribution no. 124 to the Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program. SH and BR were supported by the ICoAST program with collaborative funding from the University of Western Australia, CSIRO, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Western Australian Department of Fisheries and a Blue Carbon Capability Development Funding grant from the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Funding Information:
MEM was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council ( DE220100752 ) and the Alfred Deakin Fellowship scheme. PM was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant ( DP200100575 ). OS was supported by I + D + i Projects ( RYC2019-027073-I ) and PIE HOLOCENO ( 20213AT014 ), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER . JSL was supported by the Michael E. Tennenbaum Secretarial Scholar gift to the Smithsonian Institution . This is contribution no. 124 to the Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program. SH and BR were supported by the ICoAST program with collaborative funding from the University of Western Australia , CSIRO , Australian Institute of Marine Science and Western Australian Department of Fisheries and a Blue Carbon Capability Development Funding grant from the Australian Institute of Marine Science .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) include mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, all of which are currently under threat, putting their contribution to mitigating climate change at risk. Although certain challenges and trade-offs exist, remote sensing offers a promising avenue for transparent, replicable, and cost-effective accounting of many BCE at unprecedented temporal and spatial scales. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has issued guidelines for developing blue carbon inventories to incorporate into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Yet, there is little guidance on remote sensing techniques for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets. This review constructs a unified roadmap for applying remote sensing technologies to develop cost-effective carbon inventories for BCE – from local to global scales. We summarise and discuss (1) current standard guidelines for blue carbon inventories; (2) traditional and cutting-edge remote sensing technologies for mapping blue carbon habitats; (3) methods for translating habitat maps into carbon estimates; and (4) a decision tree to assist users in determining the most suitable approach depending on their areas of interest, budget, and required accuracy of blue carbon assessment. We designed this work to support UNFCCC-approved IPCC guidelines with specific recommendations on remote sensing techniques for GHG inventories. Overall, remote sensing technologies are robust and cost-effective tools for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets and projects. Increased appreciation of these techniques can promote a technological shift towards greater policy and industry uptake, enhancing the scalability of blue carbon as a Natural Climate Solution worldwide.
AB - Blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) include mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, all of which are currently under threat, putting their contribution to mitigating climate change at risk. Although certain challenges and trade-offs exist, remote sensing offers a promising avenue for transparent, replicable, and cost-effective accounting of many BCE at unprecedented temporal and spatial scales. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has issued guidelines for developing blue carbon inventories to incorporate into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Yet, there is little guidance on remote sensing techniques for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets. This review constructs a unified roadmap for applying remote sensing technologies to develop cost-effective carbon inventories for BCE – from local to global scales. We summarise and discuss (1) current standard guidelines for blue carbon inventories; (2) traditional and cutting-edge remote sensing technologies for mapping blue carbon habitats; (3) methods for translating habitat maps into carbon estimates; and (4) a decision tree to assist users in determining the most suitable approach depending on their areas of interest, budget, and required accuracy of blue carbon assessment. We designed this work to support UNFCCC-approved IPCC guidelines with specific recommendations on remote sensing techniques for GHG inventories. Overall, remote sensing technologies are robust and cost-effective tools for monitoring, reporting, and verifying blue carbon assets and projects. Increased appreciation of these techniques can promote a technological shift towards greater policy and industry uptake, enhancing the scalability of blue carbon as a Natural Climate Solution worldwide.
KW - Activity data
KW - Blue carbon ecosystems (BCE)
KW - Carbon stock-difference
KW - COP26
KW - Earth observation
KW - Emission/removal factors
KW - Google Earth Engine
KW - Guidelines for National GHG Inventories in Wetlands
KW - Hyperspectral imagery
KW - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
KW - IPCC Wetlands Supplement
KW - Minimum mapping unit (MMU)
KW - Monitoring, reporting, and verifying (MRV)
KW - Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
KW - Paris Agreement
KW - Remotely operated vehicles (ROV)
KW - Seismo-acoustic techniques
KW - Stock change
KW - Three-level hierarchical tier system
KW - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
KW - Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147906589&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104337
DO - 10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104337
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85147906589
SN - 0012-8252
VL - 238
JO - Earth-Science Reviews
JF - Earth-Science Reviews
M1 - 104337
ER -