James et al. (2024): It’s time to broaden what we consider a ‘blue carbon ecosystem’
Kelly James, Peter I. Macreadie, Heidi L. Burdett, Ian Davies, Nicholas A. Kamenos IN: Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17261
Because of the ability of marine ecosystems to lock up organic carbon for millennia, blue carbon is receiving much attention within the United Nations‘ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a nature-based solution (NBS) to climate change, but classically still focuses on seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and tidal marshes. However, other coastal ecosystems could also be important for blue carbon storage, but remain largely neglected in both carbon cycling budgets and NBS strategic planning. Using a meta-analysis of 253 research publications, the authors identify other coastal ecosystems—including mud flats, fjords, coralline algal (rhodolith) beds, and some components or coral reef systems—with a strong capacity to act as blue carbon sinks in certain situations.