Carbon storage potential in a recently created brackish marsh in eastern North Carolina, USA

Carbon (C) sequestration through accumulated plant biomass and storage in soils can potentially make wetland ecosystems net C sinks. Here, we collected GHG flux, plant biomass, and litter decomposition data from three distinct vegetation zones (Spartinaalterniflora, Juncus roemerianus and Spartina patens) on a 7-year-old created brackish marsh in North Carolina, USA, and integrate these data into an overall C mass balance budget. The marsh fixed an average of 1.85 g C m⁻² day⁻¹ through plant photosynthesis. About 41–46% of the fixed C remained in plants, while 18.4% of the C was decomposed and released back to the atmosphere as CO₂ and CH₄, and 8.6–13.2% of the decomposed C was stored as soil C. In all, this created marsh sequestered 28.7–44.7 Mg CO₂ year⁻¹ across the 14 ha marsh. Because the brackish marsh emitted only small amounts of CH₄ and N₂O, the CO₂ equivalent emission of the marsh was −0.87 to −0.56 g CO_2-eq m⁻² day⁻¹, indicating the marsh has a net effect in reducing GHGs to the atmosphere and contributes to cooling. However, resultant CO₂ credit (through the increment of soil C) would be worth only $30.76–$47.90 USD per hectare annually, or $431–$671 per year for the project, which, coupled with other enhanced ecosystem services, could provide landowners with some additional economic incentive for future creation projects. Nevertheless, C mass balance determinations and radiative cooling metrics showed promise in demonstrating the potential of a young created brackish marsh to act as a net carbon sink.