Carbon Sequestration at a Forested Wetland Receiving Treated Municipal Effluent

Abstract

Secondarily treated municipal effluent has been discharged since 2006 into a 1439 ha cypress-tupelo forested wetland in coastal Louisiana. Changes in carbon stocks of trees and soils as well as emissions of methane and nitrous oxide were measured over a one-year period and compared to baseline conditions derived from the scientific literature. Methods and equations were applied from the American Carbon Registry (ACR) wetland carbon offset methodology ‘Restoration of Degraded Deltaic Wetlands of the Mississippi Delta’. The cumulative carbon sequestered in the Project scenario was 4090 mt CO2e/y by trees and 13,752 mt CO2e/y by soils, while 32,982 mt CO2e/y of greenhouse gasses were emitted. The Baseline scenario sequestered 3790 mt CO2e/y by trees and 2435 mt CO2e/y by soils while emitting 70,870 mt CO2e/y in greenhouse gasses. The net difference between the Project and Baseline emissions was 11,617 mt CO2e/y if greenhouse gasses were omitted and 49,505 mt CO2e/y if greenhouse gasses were included. This study demonstrates the potential of using forested wetlands receiving treated municipal effluent for the net sequestration of carbon.

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