Tampa Bay Blue Carbon Assessment – USA

Tampa Bay is one of very few places in the United States where all three blue carbon ecosystems (mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses) are present. A model was created for the whole estuary to predict changes in ecosystem distribution and carbon stocks under various sea level rise and human management scenarios. The results suggest that mangroves will be displaced by seagrasses as sea level rises, but interestingly the effects on carbon stocks will be not be significant.

This study was a collaborative effort between Restore America’s Estuaries, Environmental Science Associates, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Tampa Bay Watch, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Funding was provided by the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Coastal Program, and ScottsMiracle-Gro.

For more information, contact Dr. Steve Crooks, Director of Climate Change Services for Environmental Science Associates at SCrooks@esassoc.com.