Eelgrass: A Climate Hero Webinar Q&A

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Eelgrass: A Climate Hero Webinar 
Nov. 24, 2020, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. 
Speakers: Aimee McGowan, Victoria Postlethwaite, and Nikki Wright  
Questions and Answers
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Do the grasses we see in sweet 
water also do the same as the 
eelgrass in salt water? 
CO2 concentrations in most freshwater ecosystems are several 
times higher than in the ocean, as these systems are 
supersaturated with CO2 and act as CO2 sources to the 
atmosphere (unlike oceans, which are CO2 sinks). However, 
macrophytes species, such as water hyacinths and water-lilies, 
are know to take up CO2. Keep in mind, there are many variables 
that impact an aquatic plant’s ability to uptake and store CO2. 
Rivers, for example, are a patchwork of different zones that vary 
in hydrologic processes, climate, etc., and, therefore, may have 
different carbon inputs and CO2 processing rates. Research 
conducted in the US suggests that freshwater inland wetlands can 
store significant amounts of carbon, known as teal carbon, and 
could be an important inclusion in carbon-offset programs. See 
the following link for more information wetlands in the US: 
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13835 
How do the carbon sediment 
storage data compare to the 
similar project done in the 
K'omoks estuary? 
The project done in the K'omoks estuary also found that each of 
their sites were highly variable in terms of carbon storage, and 
they saw similar rates of carbon storage. More information on 
their results: https://projectwatershed.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2020/05/Project-Watershed_NAPECA-Final-
Report-ComoxValleyEelgrass.pdf 
Is it true that we have a mixture 
of native and invasive eelgrass? If 
so, how can I tell the difference 
and are the invasive species a 
problem? 
Yes, we do. One of the most commonly distributed invasive 
species of seagrass in the Pacific Northwest is Zostera japonica 
(it's native to coastal eastern Asia). Z. japonica have much 
narrower and shorter blades than Z. marina. Online you can find a 
lot of great articles on this species of seagrass and its adverse 
impacts on native species. A few examples: 
https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Japonica_White_Paper and 
https://www.eopugetsound.org/articles/ecological-effect-
nonnative-seagrass-spreading-northeast-pacific-review-zostera-
japonica  
                                                           
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 Due to time limitations not all questions could be answered during the webinar. 

Is there any assistance if we 
wanted to grow (plant) seagrass 
in our local area? i.e. Keats Island 
(Howe Sound) 
Plumper Cove on Keats Island has received a transplant in 2019. 
Monitoring results show it is expanding. A debris clean-up 
occurred off the BC Parks dock in September with the support of 
BC Park and the local community. 
Any comparison of carbon 
sequestration rates of eelgrass 
vs. diatoms or coccolithophores? 
Diatoms play a major role in storing carbon in the ocean. They 
convert carbon from the atmosphere into organic carbon and 

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