SpringerLink
Log in

An appraisal of carbon capture and sequestration in few selected wetlands of West Bengal

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wetlands provide numerous ecological and economic services to mankind. The soils of wetlands are one of the largest sinks of carbon (C) among the terrestrial ecosystems and can play an important role in offsetting the emission of C as a greenhouse gas (GHG) to the atmosphere. India is bestowed with enriched wetland ecosystems that support diverse and unique habitats. The potential of the wetlands in terms of C capture and sequestration has not been quantified. Therefore, in the present paper, an assessment of C capture from different sources and its ultimate deposition in soils leading to sequestration has been done in three different types of wetlands, one created sewage-fed and two natural floodplain oxbow lakes, in the West Bengal state of India. Multiple seasonal sampling of water, macrophytes, and soil was done to assess the primary productivity, dissolved C, and deposition of C in soils of the wetlands in comparison to reference upland sites. All these wetlands are productive ecosystems as indicated by the physicochemical parameters of water and soil. The quantity of C accumulated up to 0.3 m depth in the oxbow lakes was to the tune of 144–166 Mg/ha, which was 3.43–4.78 times higher than that in the corresponding reference upland sites. In the sewage-fed wetland, the C accumulation estimated as 50 Mg/ha was 1.27 times higher than its corresponding upland site. So, the wetland ecosystems, particularly the floodplains, are highly efficient in accumulating C in their soils and thus can somewhat negate the GHG emission.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • APHA. (2012). Standard methods for examination of water and waste water (20th ed., p. 1193). American Public Health Association, AWWA, WPCA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badiou, P., McDougal, R., Pennock, D., & Clark, B. (2011). Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration potential in restored wetlands of the Canadian prairie pothole region. Welands Ecology and Management, 19, 237–256.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ballantine, K., & Schneider, R. (2009). Fifty-five years of soil development in restored freshwater depressional wetlands. Ecological Applications, 19, 1467–1480. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0588.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, B., & Mitsch, W. J. (2008). A comparison of soil carbon pools and profiles in wetlands in Costa Rica and Ohio. Ecological Engineering, 34, 311–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, B., & Mitsch, W. J. (2012). Comparing carbon sequestration in temperate freshwater wetland communities. Global Change Biology, 18, 1636–1647. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02619.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bremner, J. M. (1960). Determination of nitrogen in soil by the Kjeldahl method. Journal of Agricultural Science, 55(1), 11–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859600021572

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Byun, C., Lee, S. H., & Ang, H. (2019). Estimation of carbon storage in coastal wetlands and comparison of different management schemes in South Korea. Journal of Ecology and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41610-019-0106-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnell, P. E., Windecker, S. M., & Brenker, M. (2018). Carbon stocks, sequestration, and emissions of wetlands in south eastern Australia. Global Change Biology, 24(9), 4173–4184. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14319

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, Y., & Wang, Y. (2004). Dynamics of carbon sequestration in a coastal wetland using radiocarbon measurements. Glob Biogeochem Cycles, 18, GB4016. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GB002261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dayathilake, D. D. T. L., Lokupitiya, E., & Wijeratne, V. P. I. S. (2021). Estimation of soil carbon stocks of urban freshwater wetlands in the Colombo Ramsar Wetland city and their potential role in climate change mitigation. Wetlands, 41, 29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01424-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eid, E. M., & Shaltout, K. H. (2013). Evaluation of carbon sequestration potentiality of Lake Burullus, Egypt to mitigate climate change. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 39, 31–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, C. D., Monteith, D. T., & Cooper, D. M. (2005). Long-term increases in surface water dissolved organic carbon: Observations, possible causes and environmental impacts. Environmental Pollution, 137(1), 55–71.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, G. W., & Bauder, J. W. (1986). Particle-size analysis. In A. Klute (Ed.), Methods of soil analysis: Part 1-Physical and Mineralogical Methods (2nd ed., pp. 383–411). Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, R. B., & Reinsch, T. G. (2002). The solid phase. In J. H. Dane & G. C. Topp (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 4, Physical Methods (pp. 201–228). Soil Science Society of America. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.4.c9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kurnianto, S., Warren, M., Talbot, J., Kaufman, B., Murdiyarso, D., & Frolking, S. (2015). Carbon accumulation of tropical peatlands over millennia: A modelling approach. Global Change Biology, 21, 431–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12672

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R. (2008). Sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in global carbon pools. Energy & Environmental Science, 1, 86–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, R., Smith, P., Jungkunst, H. F., Mitsch, W. J., et al. (2018). The carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Soil and Water Conservation Society, 73(6), 145–152. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.6.145A

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J. B., Wen, Y., & Zhou, Q. (2008). Influence of vegetation and substrate on the removal and transformation of dissolved organic matter in horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands. Bioresource Technology, 99(11), 4990–4996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2007.09.012

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malak, D.A., Marin, A.I., Trombetti, M., & Roman, S.S. (2021). Carbon pools and sequestration potential of wetlands in the European Union. European Environment Agency ETC/ULS (European Topic Centre on Urban Land and Soil Systems) Report 10/2021.

  • Matthews, E., & Fung, I. (1987). Methane emission natural wetlands: Global distribution, area and environmental characteristics of sources. Glob Biogeochem Cycles, 1, 61–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCleod, E., Chmura, G. L., Bouillon, S., Salm, R., Bjork, M., Duarte, C. M., Lovelock, C. E., Schlesinger, W. H., & Silliman, B. R. (2011). A blueprint for blue carbon: Toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9, 552–560. https://doi.org/10.1890/110004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, C. K., Baer, S. G., & Whiles, M. R. (2008). Ecosystem recovery across a chronosequence of restored wetlands in the Platte River Valley. Ecosystems, 11, 193–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9115-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, S., Wassmann, R., & Paul, L.G.V. (2005). An appraisal of global wetland area and its organic carbon stock. Current Science, 88, 25–35. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24110090

  • Mitsch, W. J., Bernal, B., Nahlik, A. M., Mander, U., et al. (2013). Wetlands, carbon, and climate change. Lanscape Ecol, 28, 583–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch, W. J., & Gosselink, J. G. (2007). Wetlands of the World. Wetlands (4th ed., pp. 43–104). Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch, W. J., Nahlik, A. M., Wolski, P., Bernal, B., Zhang, L., & Ramberg, L. (2010). Tropical wetlands: Seasonal hydrologic pulsing, carbon sequestration, and methane emissions. Welands Ecology and Management, 18, 573–586.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morant, D., Picazo, A., Rochera, C., Santamans, A. C., Miralles-Lorenzo, J., & Camacho, A. (2020). Influence of the conservation status on carbon balances of semiarid coastal Mediterranean wetlands. Inland Waters. https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2020.1772033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nag, S.K. (2019). Carbon sequestration potential of wetlands – An overview. In: U.K. Sarkar et al., (Eds.) Perspectives on Climate change & Inland Fisheries in India. ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore. 359–372. ISBN-0970–616X ICAR-CIFRI.

  • Nag, S. K., Liu, R., & Lal, R. (2017). Emission of greenhouse gases and soil carbon sequestration in a riparian marsh wetland in central Ohio. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189(11), 580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6276-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nag, S. K., Nandy, S. K., Roy, K., Sarkar, U. K., & Das, B. K. (2019). Carbon balance of a sewage-fed aquaculture wetland. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 27(2), 311–322.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nahlik, A. M., & Fennessy, M. S. (2016). Carbon storage in US wetlands. Nature Communications, 7, 13585. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13835

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. W., & Sommers, L. E. (1996). Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter: Laboratory methods. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, & R. H. Loeppert (Eds.), Methods of soil analysis. Part 3: Chemical methods (pp. 961–1010). Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronmonogr9.2.2ed.c29

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, S. R., & Dean, L. A. (1965). Phosphorous. In C. A. Black (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties (pp. 1036–1037). American Society of Agronomy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pant, H. K., Rechcigl, J. E., & Adjei, M. B. (2003). Carbon sequestration in wetlands: Concept and estimation. Food, Agriculture and Environment, 1(2), 308–313.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, J. D. (1996). Salinity: Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, & R. H. Loeppert (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3: Chemical methods (pp. 417–435). Soil Science of America and American Society of Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.3.c14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar, P., & Das, T. (2020). Role of tropical floodplain wetlands in carbon sequestration: A case study from Barak river basin of Assam, Northeast India. In: S. Dhyani et al. (Eds.), Nature-based solutions for resilient ecosystems and Societies, Disaster Resilience and Green Growth” Springer Nature, Chapter 21. 365–390. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4712-6-21.

  • Sarkar, U. K., Mishal, P., Borah, S., Karnatak, G., et al. (2020). Status, Potential, Prospects, and Issues of Floodplain Wetland Fisheries in India: Synthesis and review for sustainable management”. Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, 29(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2020.1779650

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sigua, G. C., Coleman, S. W., & Albano, J. (2009). Beef cattle pasture to wetland reconversion: Impact on soil organic carbon and phosphorus dynamics. Ecological Engineering, 35, 1231–1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.05.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, K., Li, L., & Lenore, T. (2015). Spectral characterization of colored dissolved organic matter for productive inland waters and its source analysis. Chinese Geographical Science, 25(3), 295–308.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Space Applications Centre (SAC) (2011). National Wetland Atlas. SAC, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad.

  • Tangen, B. A., & Bansal, S. (2020). Soil organic carbon stocks and sequestration rates of inland, freshwater wetlands: Sources of variability and uncertainty. Science of the Total Environment, 749, 141444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141444

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thacker, S. A., Tip**, E., Baker, A., & Gondar, D. (2005). Development and application of functional assays for freshwater dissolved organic matter. Water Research, 39(18), 4559–4573.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, G. W. (1996). Soil pH and soil acidity. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, & R. H. Loeppert (Eds.), Methods of soil Analysis. Part 3: Chemical methods (pp. 475–490). Soil Science of America and American Society of Agronomy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Urbansky, E. T. (2001). Total organic carbon analyzers as tools for measuring carbonaceous matter in natural waters. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 3, 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1039/B006564L

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Villa, J. A., & Bernal, B. (2018). Carbon sequestration in wetlands, from science to practice: An overview of the biogeochemical process, measurement methods, and policy framework”. Ecological Engineering, 114, 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.06.037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vollenweider, R.A. (1969). In: R.A. Vollenweider (Ed), A manual on methods for measuring primary production in aquatic environments. IBP Handbook No. 12. F A. Davis Co., Philadelphia, Penn.” 213. doi:https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1970.15.1.0168a.

  • Wang, X., Xu, L., & Wan, R. (2016). Comparison on soil organic carbon within two typical wetland areas along the vegetation gradient of Poyang Lake, China. Hydrology Research, 47, 261–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X. L., Xu, L. G., & Yao, X. (2010). Analysis on the soil microbial biomass in typical hygrophilous vegetation of Poyang Lake. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 30(18), 5033–5042.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Were, D., Kansiime, F., & Fetahi, T. (2019). Carbon sequestration by Wetlands: A critical review of enhancement measures for climate change mitigation. Earth Systems and Environment, 3, 327–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-019-00094-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wylynko, D. (1999). In: D. Wylynko (Ed). Prairie wetlands and carbon sequestration: Assessing sinks under the Kyoto Protocol. International Institute of Sustainable Development, Manitoba, Canada.

  • Yu, L., He, L. H., & Zhang, Q. (2011). Effects of the Three-Gorge Project on the typical wetlands of Poyang Lake. Geographical Research, 30(1), 134–144.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The work reported in this paper has been carried out under the network project ‘National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture’ (NICRA) sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The authors are grateful to the ICAR for sponsoring the project at the institute.

Funding

This research was carried out with financial help from ICAR under NICRA project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700120, India

    Subir Kumar Nag, Bandana Das Ghosh, U. K. Sarkar & B. K. Das

Authors
  1. Subir Kumar Nag
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bandana Das Ghosh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. U. K. Sarkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. K. Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Subir Kumar Nag.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nag, S.K., Ghosh, B.D., Sarkar, U.K. et al. An appraisal of carbon capture and sequestration in few selected wetlands of West Bengal. Environ Dev Sustain 26, 4229–4244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02881-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02881-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation