Blue carbon in freshwater marshes on the barrier islands of Virginia

Recent research has shown that wetland systems play an important role in carbon sequestration.  The concept of sequestration in tidal systems has been termed “blue carbon.”  The vast majority of research in this area has focused on seagrass beds, mangrove communities and salt-water marshes.  On the barrier islands along the Atlantic seaboard, freshwater marshes are prevalent in the interdunal swales. These marshes are freshwater most of the time, but receive inundation from storm and over wash events.  Understanding and quantifying the amount of carbon in these systems is important in order to determine the role they may play in mitigating climate change.  This study seeks to quantify the carbon budget in the interdunal marshes on Hog Island (VCR LTER) and compare four freshwater inland marsh areas on Hog Island and tidal wetlands.  The four study areas represent different degrees of accessibility to salt water and vulnerability to storms. The initial phase will quantify primary productivity, sediment accumulation and C influx from storm surges.