As the Island confronts the many challenges brought by climate change, a Cape Cod-based research team is helping the Vineyard do its part to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, as well find natural solutions to adapt to a changing planet.
The Woodwell Climate Research Center in Falmouth has released preliminary images from its upcoming study on the Vineyard’s land cover and stored carbon, a project intended to help the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, Sheriff’s Meadow and other decision-makers reach natural solutions to adapt to climate change.
The images show how much carbon dioxide the Vineyard currently stores in its forests, wetlands, coastal, and other areas. They also map out the Vineyard’s different types of land, including conservation and highly developed areas.
This winter, the center’s Climate Smart MV Team intends to release their study, which will be used to make a series of guiding documents focused on natural and cost-effective solutions to climate change. These will include recommendations for the construction, agricultural, and landscaping industries. Assessing climate-driven hazards to the Island and which areas are most threatened will also be a focus.
The maps show that the Vineyard’s biomass, or all its living organic matter, holds 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide. Much of this is thanks to deciduous forest or woodland areas, which cover 45 percent of the Vineyard and sequester around 800,000 tons.
On a global scale, carbon sequestration research can help show how much of the greenhouse gas behind climate change is naturally kept out of the atmosphere. The current and future potential of land and biomass to store carbon is one way to lessen climate change’s effects.
“Everyone is working on what little part they can do to mitigate climate change,” Emily Sturdivant of the Climate Smart MV team told The Times. “One important approach is natural climate solutions — using natural landscapes to improve land storage in such a way to solve climate challenges through landscape. The Vineyard has lots of potential,” she said.
The data behind Woodwell’s come from a 2021 LiDAR flight over the Island, as well as measurements taken in the field. The light pulses sent by LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging, were used to create a three-dimensional map of the Island’s vegetation. Researchers also measured biomass, biodiversity and carbon dioxide in soil.
Sturdivant said that her team’s report will help land stewards make important decisions about how to best adapt to the many natural risks facing the Vineyard, and improve biodiversity.
She also said that looking at the differences in the types of vegetation on-Island has helped her understand the land use decisions made by past generations on the Vineyard.
“The takeaway is the balance the Island is able to achieve, and seeing how that has played out in those patterns,” she said.
