Schlagwort: carbon sequestration

Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhang et al. (2026): Natural forest expansion is a larger carbon sink than secondary forests in moist tropics

Yihang Zhang, Viola H. A. Heinrich, Clément Bourgoin, Xia Wang, Xiaodong Li, Yun Du and Peter M. Atkinson, IN: Nature Geoscience, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-01984-5

Tropical secondary forests grow back naturally after the original forest has been cleared, while degraded forests comprise regrowth within forested land that has experienced partial structural and functional loss. Both represent important carbon sinks. However, natural forest expansion into originally unforested land also occurs, and despite covering 6% more area than secondary forests in the moist tropics, its carbon sink remains unquantified. Here the authors quantify the above-ground carbon sink and analyse its drivers across natural forest expansion, secondary forest and degraded forest by combining satellite-derived tropical moist forest changes with spaceborne LiDAR-derived biomass.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Iwantoro et al. (2026): The Importance of Scale in the Future of Mangrove Blue Carbon Under Sea-Level Rise

A. P. Iwantoro, D. H. Urrego, D. Xie, A. P. Nicholas, K. A. Hapsari, J. A. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, J. C. Restrepo, J. Polanía, R. E. Aalto, L. F. Gómez Vargas and B. van Maanen, IN: Earth’s Future, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006984

As efficient carbon sinks, mangrove forests are crucial for climate change mitigation. However, their vulnerability to sea-level rise (SLR) and human activities influencing sediment supply introduces significant uncertainty regarding their future carbon storage capacity. Given the complexity of mangrove landscapes, current projections may be limited in their ability to capture the broad range of potential responses. Here the authors investigate the distinct drivers of local- and landscape-scale changes in mangrove carbon accumulation under SLR and changing fluvial sediment supply, by developing a novel eco-carbon-morphodynamic model. The model incorporates interactions between hydro-morphodynamic processes, mangrove dynamics, and carbon dynamics while tracking changes in bed composition accounting for organic and inorganic fractions. Numerical experiments are conducted using a schematized tidal embayment to systematically explore the impacts of different SLR rates and sediment supplies.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Hernández-León & Lichtfouse (2026): Ocean iron fertilization for carbon dioxide removal and climate change mitigation

Santiago Hernández-León and Eric Lichtfouse, IN: Environmental Chemistry Letters, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-026-01907-1

Just turning off the tap does not empty the bathtub, the bottom plug has to be opened. Similarly, just switching slowly from fossil to renewable energies will not stop in time the accumulation of huge amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Among these gases, carbon dioxide will impact adversely all society and the planet. Indeed, natural processes are able to store carbon in terrestrial and marine environments, yet at a too slow rate compared to carbon dioxide emissions, promoting carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere. Therefore, there is an urgent need to accelerate natural carbon storage to maintain the planet temperature 1.5–2.0 °C above the pre-industrial era. Thus, negative emission technologies should be developed and tested quickly. While these interventions are still debated due to possible negative effects, humans will not have another choice to avoid unprecedented changes in the Earth system. Here, the authors discuss ocean iron fertilization as a feasible, large-scale technique to increase atmospheric CO₂ capture and sequester carbon in the deep sea from decades to thousands of years.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Pradhan et al. (2026): Species-specific allometric indicators and carbon sequestration potential in mixed agro-forestry plantation systems – Preprint

Adikant Pradhan, S. K. Nag, T. Chnadrakar, S. Malaiya, K. S. Keram, D. Kerketta, Amar Nath and Sweekruta Mohapatra,IN: Research Square, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9790649/v1

Agroforestry systems are increasingly recognized as important nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and ecosystem sustainability. Quantifying biomass accumulation and carbon sequestration capacity of plantation species is therefore critical for developing ecological indicators that assess ecosystem functioning. The present study evaluated species-specific growth dynamics and carbon sequestration potential of five plantation species-teak (Tectona grandis), acacia (Acacia spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), cashew (Anacardium occidentale), and aonla (Phyllanthus emblica). Age–diameter relationships were modeled using power-law allometric equations, while biomass and carbon stocks were estimated using a generalized tropical tree biomass equation incorporating wood density, diameter at breast height (DBH), and tree height.

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Resplandy et al. (2026): Integrated perspective on ocean carbon cycle: Untangling facts, fluxes, and fictions

Laure Resplandy, Marina Lévy and Laurent Bopp, IN: Science Advances, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed2480

The ocean carbon cycle spans multiple scales and reservoirs, challenging efforts to build a coherent picture and fostering misconceptions or fragmented narratives in science and public discourse. Common examples include the belief that the biological processes control the ocean’s carbon sink (i.e., fraction of human CO₂ emissions absorbed by ocean), that restoring coastal ecosystems is highly effective at mitigating climate change, or that whales substantially contribute to carbon sequestration. The authors provide a comprehensive review of living and nonliving ocean carbon stocks and fluxes—from plankton to mangroves, whales, fish, and plastics—and an integrated perspective on global ocean carbon cycling, disentangling well-supported insights from misconceptions. This synthesis reaffirms the ocean’s key role as a physics- and chemistry-driven carbon sink, while clarifying the limited contribution of coastal and open-ocean ecosystems to carbon sequestration and climate mitigation. The authors caution against frameworks that justify marine conservation through climate mitigation—a narrative useful to draw attention, but not always robust and unnecessary, since marine biodiversity is worth preserving regardless of its impact on carbon.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zou et al. (2026): Larger forest patches have greater per-area productivity

Yibiao Zou, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Thomas Lauber, Joe Wan, Haozhi Ma, Noel Gorelick, Constantin M. Zohner and Thomas W. Crowther, IN: Nature Ecology & Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03075-5

Forest fragmentation could reduce carbon sequestration beyond losses caused by declining forest area alone, if smaller patches are intrinsically less productive per unit area than larger ones. Here the authors analyse 17 million forest patches across the conterminous USA and show that per-area net primary productivity increases systematically with patch size.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Shi et al. (2026): Vegetation-Mediated Soil Organic Carbon Differentiation and Carbon Sequestration Strategies in a Typical Wetland of the North China Plain

Zonglin Shi, Yan Wang, Xiaoshuang Li, Na Zhang, Sisi Li, Yue Wang, Hongjun Lin, Yuhong Dong, Hongju Zhou, Dayong Wu and Man Cheng, IN: Plants, https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15101524

Soil organic carbon (SOC) responds rapidly to vegetation changes, and exploring SOC sequestration mechanisms under different vegetation types is critical for optimizing wetland carbon sink functions. This study investigated the abiotic and biotic mechanisms driving SOC stability across four typical vegetation types (reed marsh, woodland, farmland, and wasteland) in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil layers of Hengshui Lake wetland.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Ayisi et al. (2026): Biological carbon sinks in aquaculture: evaluating sequestration potential and integration into carbon markets

Christian Larbi Ayisi, Samuel Ayeh Osei, Adelaide Henewaa and Rosemary Anderson Akolaa, IN: Hydrobiologia, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-026-02551-w

Interests in carbon markets worldwide have increased significantly due to the growing urgency of climate change mitigation, prompting a reassessment of nature-based solutions for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Wetland environments and forests have long been recognized as carbon sinks, but little is known about how aquaculture helps sequester carbon and how it may be included into carbon credit markets. With a focus on shellfish, seaweed, and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), this study examines the potential of aquaculture systems to sequester carbon. This study also examines how prepared various aquaculture systems are to take part in compliance and voluntary carbon markets. Through biological processes including carbonate shell formation, photosynthetic CO₂ uptake, and sedimentary carbon burial, aquaculture can function as a blue carbon sink.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Deeksha (2026): Agroforestry as a Corporate Carbon Sink: Institutionalizing Farmer-Generated Carbon Credits

S. Deeksha, IN: International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2026.1303000221

The accelerating climate crisis and rising corporate net-zero commitments have intensified demand for credible carbon offset mechanisms. Agroforestry, which integrates trees with crops and livestock systems, presents a scalable nature-based solution capable of sequestering significant atmospheric carbon while enhancing rural livelihoods. This paper proposes an institutional framework for transforming farmer-managed agroforestry systems into structured corporate carbon sinks through verified carbon credit generation. Drawing upon global climate governance frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and mitigation pathways outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the study conceptualizes a Farmer–Corporate Carbon Institutional Model (FCCIM). The model integrates carbon measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), aggregation through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and corporate procurement mechanisms. A financial simulation framework is developed to estimate revenue potential per hectare under different agroforestry densities.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Sagang et al. (2026): Managed rainforests support higher carbon density and sequestration in the Congo Basin

Le Bienfaiteur Sagang, Ricardo Dalagnol, Lee White, Stephanie George-Chacon, Samuel Favrichon, Shuang Li, Fabien Wagner, Zhihua Liu, Dafeng Zhang, Alfred Ngomanda, Vincent Medjibe, Bonaventure Sonké, Nicolas Barbier, Elsa M. Ordway & Sassan Saatchi, IN: Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72399-4

Land-use is a key driver of forest loss and aboveground live carbon (AGC) emissions in the Congo Basin (CB) rainforest. Here we evaluate the influence of land-use disturbances on AGC stocks and fluxes by developing an AGC density map for the year 2020 and integrating it with high-resolution forest cover change data spanning 30 years (1990-2020) to quantify carbon emissions and removals. Logged forests show 8% (5%–10%) less AGC compared to old growth, while slash-and-burn and unmanaged degradations display up to 50% differences. Unmanaged areas account for 54% of the region’s AGC storage. Old growth dominates the total AGC removals (84%) with the region functioning as a net AGC sink at -37.5 ± 4.8 TgCyr1, driven by logging concessions (-21.3 ± 2.4 TgCyr-1) and protected areas (-15.7 ± 2.2 TgCyr-1), while unmanaged areas remained nearly neutral. These findings emphasize the role of sustainable forests management to enhance carbon retention in the region.

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