Contribution of the neotropical inland waters to global greenhouse gas emissions

COOPA204332 - Spanish Council for Scientific Research I-COOP+2020  01/2021 - 12/2022. Funds: 21,400 €.
IP: S. Sánchez-Carrillo.
​Contributors: Mariana Vargas & Javier Alcocer (UNAM).

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands already exceed the carbon sink capacity of the continents, as a result of their intense degradation and eutrophication. The tropics are home to most of the Earth's wetlands, but their contribution to global GHG emissions is still highly uncertain because many of the processes underlying emissions have not been sufficiently studied. It is estimated that around 60% of global aquatic GHG emissions are concentrated in latitudes below 20º and the conservation and management of these ecosystems will be key to mitigating climate change in the medium and long term, as well as being a primary economic source for the sustainable economic development of these countries through the global carbon market. The objective of this action is to develop a collaborative research between MNCN-CSIC and UNAM (Mexico) through the postgraduate program in Marine Sciences and Limnology, to study GHG emissions in Mexican tropical lakes (Lagos de Montebello, Chiapas) in comparison with those produced in temperate lakes (Lagunas de Ruidera, Spain), to evaluate how they contribute to the regional radiative forcing of the neotropic. With this action, scientific cooperation between Mexico and Spain is promoted, through academic exchange between the CSIC and the UNAM, with the aim of improving the development of the most disadvantaged areas of Mexico (Chiapas). The ultimate goal is to promote the sustainable use of American tropical aquatic ecosystems, promoting their conservation as an important source of long-term income for the most disadvantaged tropical regions in the international context of the carbon market.