Coastal Connections: Mapping the Extent, Health and Connectivity of Northern Ireland's Blue Carbon Ecosystems

人类活动使大气中的二氧化碳浓度增加到比过去16万年测量的任何水平都要高。蓝碳生态系统（包括盐沼、红树林、海草草甸、大型藻类）在水生碳封存和储存中发挥着宝贵的作用，是生物圈中最强烈的碳汇之一，对减缓全球气候变化作出了重大贡献1。然而，由于气候变化和人为影响，这些栖息地的范围、质量和连通性正在迅速加速变化。在英国，除了碳储存之外，海草和盐沼还提供了一系列宝贵的生态系统服务，如增加生物多样性、稳定沉积物、保护海岸、增强渔业和提高水质。然而，尽管这些生态系统是至关重要的碳汇，但它们在英国的数量正在大幅下降，而缺乏相关知识，尤其是在北爱尔兰，是它们保护面临的主要问题之一。最近对英国水域的Zostera marina（英国最丰富的海草品种）的研究发现，它的健康状况不佳，而且在空间上也在下降。这些研究还强调了基线知识的缺乏，因为尽管NI拥有英国15%的Zostera草甸，但这是一个单一的样本。同样，对于盐沼，尽管在英国和爱尔兰共和国进行了研究，但缺乏NI的栖息地数据。因此，了解海草和盐沼栖息地的当前遗传学和生态学对未来的保护工作和基于自然的气候变化解决方案至关重要。本研究将通过以下方式解决这一数据缺乏问题；1)利用新型无人机和传感器技术（如高分辨率无人机/传感器数据集、图像处理、软拷贝摄影测量和GIS生成多维地理视觉表示），开发北爱尔兰海草和盐沼栖息地的基线清单。2)实地考察生境的位置和范围，识别各样点的局地压力和生境状况。包括对碳固存率（CSRs）的本地测量和对总碳储量的估计。3)确定种群遗传结构，以预测蓝碳栖息地对气候变化的可能响应（重点关注种群连通性、局部适应性和表型可塑性）。4)了解和评估恢复的共同利益，如生物多样性的增加、生态系统服务的增强，如防洪、水质改善和社区购买/所有权。5)根据特定地点的碳封存、储存潜力和恢复行动的实用性启动栖息地恢复，创造适合当地和遗传多样化的种群。该项目将建立在DAERA， UW和pi已经开展的工作的基础上。您将在遥感、基因组学、生物信息学和推动当地恢复计划方面获得全面的经验。QUADRAT DTP还提供了广泛的培训计划，以发展可转移的专业技能。你将成为昆士兰大学和西澳大学充满活力的研究生社区的一员。该项目提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，利用尖端的遥感和基因组学来解决英国主要蓝碳栖息地的基本知识差距，并将有助于我们对这些生态系统的理解，以及它们的实际恢复Duarte, c.m, Middelburg， J.和Caraco， N.海洋植被在海洋碳循环中的主要作用。[2]张建军，张建军，张建军，等。2016年，不列颠群岛海草的危险状态。Soc。开放的科学。[3]张建军，张建军，张建军，等。2013 .中国海草生态系统研究进展。前面。植物科学。12:629 - 962。

Human actions have increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere to levels higher than any measured in the past 160,000 years. Blue carbon ecosystems (including saltmarsh, mangrove, seagrass meadows, macroalgae) play a valuable role in aquatic carbon sequestration and storage, ranking among the most intense carbon sinks in the biosphere, and contribute significantly to global climate change mitigation1. However, these habitats are undergoing rapid and accelerating shifts in extent, quality and connectivity due to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Within the UK, seagrass and saltmarsh provide a range of invaluable ecosystem services in addition to carbon storage, such as increasing biodiversity, sediment stabilization, coastal protection, fisheries enhancement, and increased water quality. However, while these ecosystems are vital carbon sinks, they are in huge decline in the UK, and a lack of knowledge particularly in Northern Ireland, is one of the major issues facing their conservation. Recent work on Zostera marina (the most abundant UK seagrass species) in UK waters, identified both poor health2 and spatial decline3. These studies also highlighted a lack of baseline knowledge as although NI has 15% of the UK's Zostera meadows, this was represented by a single sample. Similarly, for salt marsh, although studies have been carried out in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, there is a lack of habitat data for NI. Therefore, an understanding of the current genetics and ecology of seagrass and saltmarsh habitats are crucial for future conservation efforts and for nature-based solutions to climate change.This study will address this lack of data by;1) Developing a baseline inventory of seagrass and salt marsh habitats in Northern Ireland using novel drone and sensor technology (e.g. high-resolution Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) /sensor datasets, image processing, soft-copy photogrammetry, and GIS to generate multidimensional geo-visual representations).2) Ground-truth habitat locations and extent, and identify local pressures and habitat condition at each site. Include local measurements of carbon sequestration rates (CSRs) and estimating total carbon storage.3) Identify the population genetic structure to enable forecasting of the likely response of blue carbon habitats to climate change (with a focus on population connectivity, local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity).4) Understand and evaluate the co-benefits of restoration, such as biodiversity gains, enhancement of ecosystem services such as flood protection, water quality improvement, and community buy-in/ownership. 5) Initiating habitat restoration based on site specific carbon sequestration, storage potential and practicality of restoration actions, creating locally appropriate and genetically diverse populations.This project will build on work already being carried out by DAERA, UW and the PIs. You will gain comprehensive experience in a range of remote sensing, genomics, bioinformatics and drive local restoration programs. The QUADRAT DTP further provides an extensive training programme for developing transferable professional skills. You will be part of vibrant postgraduate communities at the QUB and UoA. The project provides an exciting opportunity to address fundamental knowledge gaps in key UK blue carbon habitats, using cutting edge remote sensing and genomics, and will contribute both to our understanding of these ecosystems, and to their practical restoration.1 Duarte, C. M., Middelburg, J. & Caraco, N. Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle. Biogeosciences 2, 1-8 (2005)2 Jones BL, Unsworth RKF. 2016 The perilous state of seagrass in the British Isles.R. Soc. open sci.3: 150596.3 Green AE, Unsworth RKF, Chadwick MA and Jones PJS (2021) Historical Analysis Exposes Catastrophic Seagrass Loss for the United Kingdom. Front. Plant Sci. 12:629962.