Talk on Dune Plant Carbon Storage

European beach grass. /Photo by Bonnie Moreland

As part of the ongoing Research Seminars series, the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) will be hosting John Stepanek, a PhD  student and member of the Hacker Lab, housed within the Department of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University (OSU). He will talk about his research involving carbon storage and non-native beachgrasses in Pacific Northwest coastal sand dunes. His presentation will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 3:30 p.m.

About the talk:

“As global carbon emissions continue to rise, scientists have become increasingly interested in the ability of coastal ecosystems to store carbon and buffer the impacts of climate change. Coastal sand dunes make up one third of the world’s ice-free coastlines and act as natural barriers to sea-level rise and storm surges, but there are very few studies on the capacity of these ecosystems to sequester and store carbon. In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, 45% of the coastline is covered by dunes, and they have experienced substantial change in size, morphology, vegetative cover, and ecosystems services since the introduction and spread of non-native Ammophila beachgrasses. We aim to understand the patterns and variations in carbon density and carbon stock across dunes of the Oregon and Washington coastlines and understand how vegetation influences this important ecosystem services.”

These talks are delivered in a hybrid fashion. The event is free, and all are welcome to attend in person in the auditorium of the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building at the HMSC (2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr). You can also attend online. Use this link to attend remotely via Zoom.

To read more about the event, go here.