Blue Carbon Seascapes (BCS) - Node Mapping Project 1.2

Blue Carbon Seascapes (BCS) – Node Mapping project. Carbon accumulation rates across various marine habitats will be mapped and integrated with major organic carbon sources to create a comprehensive network of blue carbon nodes (sources and sinks). This will support a model of lateral flows of allochthonous blue carbon. Starting with existing habitat maps for the major marine plant groups that support blue carbon (mangroves, seagrasses, macroalgae) in these study regions, we will identify key spatial gaps, areas of high model uncertainty, or paucity in information (i.e., lacking remote sensing and in-field measurements). To fill these spatial gaps, we will conduct field-based assessments and targeted remote sensing. These surveys will include other key habitat types important for tropical marine biodiversity and productivity (e.g., coral reef and filter-feeder beds). Various mapping methods will be used to assess key predictors of benthic occurrence, create a georeferenced map of predicted habitats, and applied estimates of uncertainty.