Recent BlueFlux Study Reveals Climate Benefits of Wetlands

Wetlands are found all over the world in a variety of forms. In addition to the various ecological benefits they offer, there are other less visible but equally important services they also provide. Whether they are mangroves, salt marshes, or nontidal environments such as swamps and peatlands, wetlands have great potential for storing carbon in their soils, thereby decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In a world that is increasingly modified by humans, ensuring that wetlands remain as carbon sinks requires understanding, protection, and potentially management of these valuable landscapes.

Fortunately, a new publication, released earlier this year, lays the groundwork for gathering and interpreting data to better understand carbon fluxes in wetlands over time. While wetlands provide critical habitat and buffer coastlines from storms and flooding, some are also more prone to emitting methane, and all are becoming increasingly impacted by sea level rise and large storm events.

Backed by NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System, the recent study, which began in 2021 and is known as the BlueFlux campaign, combines ground and airborne measurements taken in the Florida Everglades with long-term satellite imagery of the region to assess how greenhouse gas levels in the soils and atmosphere change with the landscape. Using data that spans 23 years, starting in 2000, the BlueFlux team- which included ECU faculty members Drs. Sean Charles and David Lagomasino- considers how variations in wetland vegetation and salinity, as well as environmental disturbances and restoration efforts, affect how greenhouse gases are stored or emitted across multiple scales.

The researchers found that wetlands in South Florida remove 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. For perspective, according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator, that amount of carbon sequestration offsets the annual emissions of 3,265,574 cars. Additionally, even though 6 million metric tons of methane are emitted each year in the same region, overall, the Everglades remain a carbon sink. In fact, between 2000 and 2024, net greenhouse gas removals from the atmosphere increased by approximately 18%.

“Wetland plants and particularly mangroves are extremely effective carbon sinks, due to high rates of productivity and low rates of decomposition in wet soils,” explains Charles.

“Furthermore, over the last two decades, the rate of carbon sequestration in the Everglades has increased due to the expansion of mangrove trees.”

This growth, however, does not come without concern. Mangroves in South Florida have expanded inland due to sea level rise, and it is that same driver that also leaves coastal mangroves increasingly vulnerable to strong storms. Hurricanes, such as Irma, which notoriously impacted the state in 2017, may cause permanent mangrove loss and other damage that can decrease carbon dioxide uptake for 4-5 years.

It is also worth noting that methane emissions in Everglades wetlands are growing and are especially concentrated in highly impacted or developed areas. However, the study also provides hope, since the rate of carbon storage outweighs the amount of methane produced.

It is also worth noting that methane emissions in Everglades wetlands are growing and are especially concentrated in highly impacted or developed areas. However, the study also provides hope, since the rate of carbon storage outweighs the amount of methane produced.

“Everglades restoration that increases freshwater flow to the coast enhances carbon storage, [thus] demonstrating the benefits of conservation management,” says Charles. “Our models suggest that hotspots of methane flux can be predicted, while the concentration in managed ecosystems suggests that altering management conditions may make improvements.”

Overall, the BlueFlux campaign highlights the climate benefits of wetlands and the need for their protection and/or restoration across temporal and spatial scales. Furthermore, the framework developed through this study provides information for future management decisions in the Everglades, and it also lays the groundwork for similar studies to be conducted in other wetland areas like those found in coastal North Carolina.

The preceding story first appeared in the Spring 2026 edition of CoastLines, published in June. The work mentioned was carried out in collaboration with scientists from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Maryland’s Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), Yale University, East Carolina University, Florida International University, and the University of Alabama.