Wetlands as Economically Viable Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change is causing long-term changes in the earths temperature affecting many ecosystems. Different mitigation strategies are being explored to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. One such mitigation strategy is the conservation and/or restoration of wetlands in agricultural landscapes to sequester carbon. Here, we explored the economic viability of wetlands as nature-based solutions for carbon sequestration. First, we collected sediment cores from the center of extant wetlands in agricultural landscapes across a broad climatic and physiographic gradient, and estimated the rates of carbon sequestration in these wetlands using Cs-137 and Pb-210 dating. Next, we assessed the range in natural variability in the carbon sequestration rates as a function of the climate, geology, topography, and soils. Finally, we assessed the economic value of restoring wetlands for carbon sequestration using the social cost of carbon and Canadas current federal carbon pricing schedule. We considered alternative carbon offset timelines of 10 years (based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)s timeline to reduce 45% of CO2eq emissions by 2030) and 30 years (based on the IPCCs timeline to become carbon neutral by 2050). We scaled up the economic value of carbon sequestration from individual wetlands to all wetlands within the Canadian agricultural sector. Our economic analysis provides support for wetlands as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation.