Sumilen

The alarming increase in CO₂ In the atmosphere, which this year reaches 400 ppm for the first time in the last 3 to 5 million years, and the certainty that we will continue burning fossil fuels in the coming decades, have highlighted the need to intensify efforts in the study of the natural carbon sinks of the biosphere.

The proposed project will provide solid methodological and conceptual tools and updated estimates to determine the role of marine phanerogam sediments (MP) as long-term carbon sinks and their contribution to mitigating that increase. SUMILEN represents a natural and innovative step forward compared to previous projects, aiming to improve and expand estimates of carbon flows and stocks towards MP sediments, study and model some of the mechanisms that control them, propose a conceptual framework to help systematise the growing volume of studies on the subject, and analyse the economic potential of sequestered carbon in international markets, producing a first estimate for Spain.

The alarming rise of CO2 in the atmosphere, which has reached the threshold of 400 ppm for the first time in the last 3 to 5 million years, and the certainty that fossil fuels will continue to be burned in the coming decades, has made evident the need to intensify efforts in the study of natural biospheric carbon sinks. SUMILEN will provide solid methodological and conceptual tools and up-to-date estimates to assess the role of seagrass sediments as long-term carbon stores, helping to control that rise. This project represents a step forward from previous work by extending the current estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes to seagrass sediments, predicting their evolution over time, creating a framework from the analysis of recent studies, and assessing the economic potential of carbon in carbon markets. To carry out the project, SUMILEN brings together a multidisciplinary international group encompassing ecologists, soil scientists, microbiologists, and carbon market analysts from Spain (Catalonia, Galicia, and Basque Country), Australia (Perth), Brazil (São Paulo), and England (London).