WP 5: Co-benefits and risks

In work package 5, co-benefits and risks of vegetated coastal ecosystems in addition to the storage of so-called “blue carbon” are analysed under the lead of Ludwig Franzius Institute of Leibniz Universität Hannover. For this purpose, a data base on the effects of vegetated coastal ecosystems on hydrodynamics as an additional ecosystem service in coastal protection is being compiled, which both aggregates previous knowledge and closes existing knowledge gaps through work during joint field campaigns within the project. In addition, the limits of hydrodynamic resilience of German vegetated coastal ecosystems as well as of unvegetated carbon-rich sediments are determined in laboratory studies. In the case of seagrass and salt marsh vegetation, plants that have been experimentally acclimatised to future climatic conditions are used for this purpose. These laboratory experiments can thus provide information on how climate change-induced signals in hydrodynamic forcing can affect the storage of “blue carbon”. In addition, the work package identifies further potential synergies in the form of additional ecosystem services and prepares the collected findings so they can be used in the analysis of trade-offs in carbon sequestration initiatives from a regional development perspective in work package 7.