Blue Carbon

Blue Carbon

Blue carbon refers to carbon captured, stored, and cycled within coastal and marine ecosystems. The concept is most strongly associated with vegetated coastal habitats such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and tidal salt marshes, where large quantities of organic carbon can accumulate in vegetation and especially in waterlogged soils and sediments. Research has shown that these ecosystems can store carbon for long periods while also supporting biodiversity, fisheries, coastal protection, and human livelihoods.

Blue carbon has developed from a relatively specialized area of coastal ecology into an important field connecting climate science, conservation, ecosystem restoration, carbon accounting, public policy, and environmental finance. At the same time, research emphasizes that blue carbon is not a simple substitute for reducing fossil-fuel emissions. Carbon storage varies greatly among ecosystems and locations, and its climatic value depends on factors including permanence, additionality, greenhouse-gas emissions, ecological condition, and the fate of carbon transported away from the ecosystem.

Foundations and Blue Carbon Science

Early blue-carbon research demonstrated the unusually high carbon-storage capacity of coastal wetlands and marine vegetation. Mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses occupy relatively small areas compared with terrestrial forests but can accumulate substantial quantities of carbon, particularly in sediments and soils.

Research increasingly distinguishes between carbon captured directly by ecosystem vegetation and carbon originating elsewhere and subsequently deposited within an ecosystem. Scientists use isotopic, chemical, molecular, ecological, and sedimentological techniques to determine the origins and persistence of stored carbon.

Modern blue-carbon research examines several interconnected pathways, including biomass production, soil carbon accumulation, sediment burial, dissolved organic carbon export, inorganic carbon chemistry, lateral transport between ecosystems, and microbial processing. These processes complicate estimates of how much atmospheric carbon dioxide is ultimately removed and how long it remains isolated from the atmosphere.

Climate change and human disturbance can also transform carbon sinks into carbon sources. Warming, erosion, land conversion, aquaculture, pollution, sea-level rise, marine heatwaves, and other pressures can reduce ecosystem carbon stocks or release previously stored carbon.

Mangroves

Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-rich tropical ecosystems. Much of their carbon is stored belowground in deep, organic-rich soils rather than solely in trunks, branches, and leaves.

Mangrove carbon stocks vary substantially according to geomorphology, sediment supply, hydrology, vegetation, climate, and land-use history. Consequently, carbon estimates from one mangrove region cannot automatically be applied to another.

Deforestation and degradation can release both vegetation carbon and carbon accumulated in soils over long periods. Conversion to shrimp ponds, agriculture, urban development, and other land uses has therefore been an important focus of blue-carbon research.

Restoration can rebuild mangrove carbon stocks, although the amount and rate of recovery depend strongly on local conditions. Research suggests that restoring areas where mangroves previously existed can often provide more reliable ecological and carbon benefits than attempting to establish mangroves in locations where they did not historically occur.

Scientists are increasingly using satellite imagery, drones, vegetation indices, process-based models, and geospatial decision tools to estimate mangrove biomass, identify restoration opportunities, and improve monitoring.

Mangrove greenhouse-gas accounting also extends beyond carbon dioxide. Research on methane emissions, including methane transported through mangrove tree stems, illustrates why complete greenhouse-gas budgets are needed when evaluating climate benefits.

Seagrass Meadows

Seagrasses form extensive underwater meadows that can store large quantities of organic carbon in coastal sediments. Their global importance helped establish seagrasses as one of the three principal ecosystems traditionally included in blue-carbon accounting.

The amount of carbon stored beneath seagrass meadows varies greatly among regions. Water depth, exposure, sediment characteristics, geomorphology, plant productivity, nutrient availability, and connections with neighboring ecosystems can all influence carbon accumulation.

Some seagrass sediment carbon originates from the plants themselves, while other carbon is transported into meadows from surrounding terrestrial or marine environments. Research in some regions has even identified ancient terrestrial peat beneath contemporary seagrass meadows.

Disturbance can produce substantial carbon losses. Marine heatwaves, warming, declining water quality, physical disturbance, and other pressures threaten both seagrass ecosystems and their carbon-storage functions.

Restoration can rebuild carbon stocks, but recovery is neither immediate nor guaranteed. Long-term monitoring indicates that carbon accumulation depends heavily on site conditions and the successful restoration of ecological processes.

New approaches use satellite observations, machine learning, field measurements, and ecological models to estimate seagrass carbon stocks over increasingly large geographic areas.

Salt Marshes and Tidal Wetlands

Salt marshes and other tidal wetlands are major coastal carbon reservoirs. Their waterlogged sediments slow decomposition and allow organic matter to accumulate over long periods.

Carbon storage varies according to vegetation, sediment characteristics, tidal exchange, geomorphology, climate, hydrology, and connections with nearby ecosystems. Tidal creeks and other landscape features can significantly affect patterns of carbon and nutrient accumulation.

Research indicates that global salt-marsh degradation can produce carbon losses that outweigh gains achieved through restoration. This reinforces the importance of protecting intact wetlands in addition to restoring damaged ones.

Restoration can increase carbon accumulation, particularly where natural tidal flows and sediment processes are successfully re-established. Restored marshes often change as they mature, meaning their carbon-storage capacity may develop over decades rather than immediately.

Methane is an important consideration in coastal-wetland climate accounting. Restoration that changes salinity or tidal exchange may reduce methane emissions in some environments, potentially increasing the overall climate benefit.

Researchers are also examining tidal flats, mudflats, sabkhas, and tidal freshwater wetlands to determine whether blue-carbon frameworks should extend beyond traditionally recognized vegetated ecosystems.

Restoration and Conservation

Blue-carbon conservation seeks both to prevent the release of existing carbon stocks and to maintain future carbon sequestration. Because large quantities of carbon may already be stored in soils, preventing ecosystem destruction can sometimes deliver more immediate climate benefits than creating new habitat.

Restoration projects attempt to recover ecological processes as well as carbon. Effective projects may restore tidal flows, hydrology, sediment supply, vegetation communities, and landscape connectivity.

The carbon benefits of restoration vary according to the ecosystem, previous land use, environmental conditions, project design, and time since restoration. Restoration therefore cannot be evaluated solely by the number of hectares treated.

Blue-carbon habitats also provide benefits unrelated to carbon. Mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, and other coastal wetlands can provide nursery habitat for fisheries, support biodiversity, reduce erosion, stabilize shorelines, improve water quality, and reduce vulnerability to flooding and storms.

These multiple benefits have helped establish blue carbon as an important category of nature-based climate solutions.

Mapping, Measurement, and Carbon Accounting

Credible blue-carbon programs depend on reliable measurement, reporting, and verification. Researchers use field sampling, laboratory analysis, satellite imagery, radar, drones, geographic information systems, ecosystem models, and machine-learning methods to estimate carbon stocks and changes through time.

Soil depth is particularly important because much of the carbon in mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses occurs belowground. Carbon stored at different depths may also have very different ages and rates of decomposition.

Carbon accounting must distinguish existing carbon stocks from additional carbon gains produced by conservation or restoration. This concept, known as additionality, is fundamental when projects generate carbon credits.

Permanence is another major concern. Carbon benefits can be reversed if ecosystems are later destroyed by development, erosion, sea-level rise, storms, warming, or other disturbances.

Scientists are developing increasingly standardized methods for measuring carbon stocks, greenhouse-gas fluxes, carbon sources, restoration gains, and potential emissions resulting from ecosystem loss.

Carbon Markets and Blue Carbon Finance

The high carbon density of many coastal ecosystems has generated interest in financing their conservation and restoration through carbon markets.

Blue-carbon credits may provide revenue for mangrove, seagrass, and wetland projects, while governments, international organizations, conservation groups, and financial institutions are developing tools to evaluate project costs and potential investment returns.

However, carbon-market projects face significant challenges. Accurate baselines, additionality, permanence, leakage, monitoring costs, land and sea tenure, ecological integrity, and community participation can all affect whether credits represent genuine climate benefits.

Climate change itself creates financial risk because ecosystems expected to store carbon for decades may be damaged by sea-level rise, extreme weather, warming, or changing land use.

Research increasingly argues that financial evaluations should account for the broader ecosystem services produced by coastal habitats rather than valuing projects solely according to tradable carbon.

Policy, Governance, and Coastal Communities

Blue carbon has become increasingly incorporated into national and international climate and conservation policy. Countries can include coastal wetlands in greenhouse-gas inventories, Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, biodiversity strategies, marine protected areas, and coastal restoration programs.

International institutions and governments are developing policy frameworks for protecting mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses, although legal responsibilities remain divided among climate, biodiversity, fisheries, coastal-management, and land-tenure systems.

National and subnational governments have begun constructing blue-carbon inventories and mapping programs. These efforts demonstrate how scientific measurements can move from field studies into formal climate accounting and conservation planning.

Community rights are a major governance issue. Many carbon-rich coastal ecosystems overlap with areas traditionally managed or used by Indigenous peoples and local coastal communities. Researchers emphasize that blue-carbon projects should protect customary land and sea rights, livelihoods, participation in decision-making, and equitable sharing of financial benefits.

Traditional and Indigenous ecological knowledge can also complement scientific monitoring and contribute to locally appropriate approaches to coastal stewardship.

Regional Research and National Programs

Blue-carbon research now spans coastal regions around the world. Studies in Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Americas, Europe, the Indian Ocean, and Pacific islands demonstrate substantial geographic differences in carbon stocks and ecosystem processes.

African research has documented significant mangrove, seagrass, and tidal-wetland carbon resources while also identifying major gaps in regional measurements. Studies in Kenya, South Africa, and other African coastal regions illustrate both the climate potential of blue-carbon ecosystems and the need for expanded monitoring.

Kenya has developed a national approach to protecting blue-carbon ecosystems, while research in Lamu has examined carbon storage under different seagrass-management strategies.

Countries and regions including Ghana, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have undertaken inventories, mapping programs, restoration projects, policy assessments, or financial-readiness studies.

These initiatives demonstrate the growing transition of blue carbon from scientific research into practical conservation and climate-policy programs.

Macroalgae, Kelp, and Expanded Blue Carbon

Traditional blue-carbon frameworks have concentrated on mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes because their sediment carbon stocks can be measured and connected relatively directly to specific ecosystems.

Researchers are increasingly investigating whether other marine ecosystems and processes should also be included.

Kelp forests and other macroalgae can produce enormous quantities of organic material, some of which is exported to deep waters or sediments where it may remain stored for substantial periods. Because the eventual location and permanence of exported carbon are difficult to trace, the climate-mitigation value of macroalgae remains more difficult to quantify than sediment carbon stored directly beneath coastal wetlands.

Other areas of research include inorganic carbon sequestration, ocean alkalinity, benthic sediments, dissolved organic carbon, and the microbial carbon pump.

These emerging fields demonstrate that the ocean carbon cycle extends well beyond vegetated shorelines while also highlighting the need for careful definitions and credible accounting standards.

Scientific Limitations and Debate

Blue carbon can contribute to climate mitigation, but its potential has important limits.

Biological carbon storage is finite and potentially reversible, whereas fossil-fuel combustion transfers carbon from long-term geological storage into the active atmosphere-ocean system. For this reason, blue-carbon conservation cannot be treated as a complete substitute for reducing fossil-fuel emissions.

Carbon estimates also contain uncertainty because ecosystems differ greatly in productivity, sedimentation, greenhouse-gas emissions, carbon sources, disturbance history, and long-term stability.

Some restoration projects may produce substantial additional carbon storage, while others may produce limited gains or require decades before measurable carbon benefits emerge.

These uncertainties strengthen the case for rigorous monitoring rather than eliminating the value of blue-carbon conservation. Protecting coastal ecosystems can prevent carbon emissions while simultaneously delivering biodiversity, fisheries, adaptation, shoreline protection, and social benefits.

Conclusion

Blue carbon connects coastal ecology with one of the central environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. Mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, and related coastal environments can store substantial quantities of carbon while supporting biodiversity and human communities.

The strongest case for blue carbon is broader than carbon sequestration alone. Protecting intact ecosystems can avoid emissions from stored carbon, restoration can rebuild ecological functions, and healthy coastal habitats can increase resilience to climate change.

At the same time, blue-carbon strategies require scientifically credible accounting, realistic expectations about permanence and additionality, and recognition that ecosystem carbon cannot compensate indefinitely for fossil-fuel emissions.

As research expands into carbon markets, national inventories, satellite monitoring, community-based management, macroalgae, microbial processes, and new forms of marine carbon storage, blue carbon is evolving from a scientific concept into a multidisciplinary framework for coastal conservation, climate mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development.

Foundations and Core Blue Carbon Science

Bio-geomorphologic effects on blue carbon accumulation in mangrove sediments | Qin Zhu et al. | Ocean & Coastal Management | 2026-02

Examines how vegetation, sediment transport, wave energy, and geomorphology interact to determine organic-carbon accumulation and preservation in mangrove sediments.

Ecological connectivity between mangroves and seagrasses increases sediment blue carbon storage | Various authors | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2025-07-15

Finds that ecological connectivity among mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal flats can substantially increase sediment organic-carbon storage across coastal seascapes.

Achieving the Kunming–Montreal global biodiversity targets for blue carbon ecosystems | Chuancheng Fu et al. | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment | 2024-07-02

Connects blue-carbon conservation with international biodiversity targets and evaluates priorities for protecting coastal carbon ecosystems.

Blue carbon for climate and co-benefits | Sarah E. Lester | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2023-06-01

Discusses how blue-carbon protection can provide biodiversity, fisheries, coastal protection, and community benefits alongside climate mitigation.

Carbon Removal Using Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems Is Uncertain and Unreliable, With Questionable Climatic Cost-Effectiveness | Phillip Williamson and Jean-Pierre Gattuso | Frontiers in Climate | 2022-07-28

Critically assesses uncertainties involving additionality, greenhouse-gas emissions, permanence, scalability, and cost when blue-carbon restoration is treated as carbon dioxide removal.

Blue carbon as a natural climate solution | Peter I. Macreadie et al. | Nature Reviews Earth & Environment | 2021-11-01

Assesses the scientific basis, mitigation potential, limitations, and policy opportunities associated with blue-carbon ecosystems.

The renaissance of Odum’s outwelling hypothesis in ‘Blue Carbon’ science | Various authors | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2021-07-05

Reconsiders the importance of organic carbon exported from coastal ecosystems and argues that lateral carbon transport needs greater attention in blue-carbon accounting.

Global Significance of Mangrove Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation | Daniel M. Alongi | Sci | 2020-08-21

Reviews the magnitude, cycling, permanence, and climate-mitigation significance of carbon stored by mangrove ecosystems.

The future of Blue Carbon science | Peter I. Macreadie et al. | Nature Communications | 2019-09-05

Reviews emerging blue-carbon research priorities and identifies opportunities to improve climate mitigation through coastal ecosystem conservation.

Fingerprinting Blue Carbon: Rationale and Tools to Determine the Source of Organic Carbon in Marine Depositional Environments | Various authors | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2019-05-14

Reviews chemical, isotopic, molecular, and ecological techniques for determining where organic carbon stored in coastal sediments originated.

Assessing the risk of carbon dioxide emissions from blue carbon ecosystems | Catherine E. Lovelock et al. | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment | 2017-05-15

Develops a framework for estimating the risk that disturbance of mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses will release previously stored carbon.

Clarifying the role of coastal and marine systems in climate mitigation | Jennifer Howard et al. | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment | 2017-02-01

Distinguishes coastal ecosystems with demonstrable long-term carbon sequestration from marine systems for which climate-mitigation benefits remain more difficult to quantify.

Can we manage coastal ecosystems to sequester more blue carbon? | Peter I. Macreadie et al. | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment | 2017

Explores management interventions that could increase carbon capture or prevent stored carbon from being released by coastal ecosystem degradation.

The role of coastal plant communities for climate change mitigation and adaptation | Carlos M. Duarte et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2013-10-29

Explains how coastal vegetation can simultaneously sequester carbon and increase resilience to climate-related coastal hazards.

Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems | Linwood Pendleton et al. | PLOS ONE | 2012-09-04

Estimates substantial carbon dioxide emissions caused by the destruction and conversion of coastal vegetated ecosystems worldwide.

Seagrass ecosystems as a globally significant carbon stock | James W. Fourqurean et al. | Nature Geoscience | 2012-05-20

Quantifies the immense global carbon reservoir stored beneath seagrass meadows and highlights risks from their continuing decline.

Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics | Daniel C. Donato et al. | Nature Geoscience | 2011-04-03

Demonstrates that mangrove forests contain exceptionally large carbon stocks, particularly in their deep organic-rich soils.

A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2 | Elizabeth Mcleod et al. | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment | 2011-01-20

Establishes a foundational framework for understanding carbon sequestration by mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass ecosystems.

Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle | Carlos M. Duarte, Jack J. Middelburg and Nicholas Caraco | Biogeosciences | 2005-02-01

Shows that marine vegetation plays a disproportionately large role in organic-carbon production, burial, and export despite occupying a relatively small area of the ocean.

Global carbon sequestration in tidal, saline wetland soils | Gail L. Chmura et al. | Global Biogeochemical Cycles | 2003-12-10

Provides an influential global estimate of carbon burial in salt marshes and mangroves and helped establish the importance of coastal wetland soils as carbon sinks.

Emerging Blue Carbon Science

Assessing the global potential of Expanding Coastal Vegetated Ecosystems as a Carbon Dioxide Removal Method: results from a parameterization in an Earth System Model | Margarita Liadova, Tronje P. Kemena and David P. Keller | Frontiers in Climate | 2026-08-03

Uses Earth-system modeling to test the potential climate effects of substantially expanding vegetated coastal ecosystems.

Global vulnerability of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to climate and anthropogenic impacts: A spatiotemporal perspective | Jiamiao Chen et al. | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2026-08-02

Maps global blue-carbon vulnerability and examines how climate change and human pressures interact across space and time.

Global assessment shows blue carbon wealth dominated by ocean processes and unevenly distributed across countries | Nathalie Hilmi et al. | Communications Sustainability | 2026-07-21

Evaluates the global distribution and economic importance of blue-carbon wealth and finds major inequalities among nations.

Source-sink dynamics of coastal blue carbon: a review of mechanisms and drivers | Meihong Ge et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-05-07

Reviews how physical, biological, and biogeochemical processes determine whether coastal ecosystems function as carbon sources or sinks.

Priority questions for the next decade of blue carbon science | Peter I. Macreadie et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2026-03-24

Identifies major scientific questions that researchers consider critical for advancing blue-carbon knowledge during the coming decade.

Blue carbon ecosystems and coral reefs as coupled nature-based climate solutions | Mojtaba Fakhraee | Nature Sustainability | 2026-02-06

Examines interactions between blue-carbon habitats and coral reefs and argues for managing them as connected climate solutions.

Nonuniform organic carbon stock loss in soils across disturbed blue carbon ecosystems | Chuancheng Fu et al. | Nature Communications | 2025-05-11

Shows that ecosystem disturbance causes highly variable soil-carbon losses depending on habitat, depth, disturbance type, and environmental conditions.

Why blue carbon cannot truly offset fossil fuel emissions | Sophia C. Johannessen and James R. Christian | Communications Earth & Environment | 2023-11-08

Argues that finite and reversible biological carbon storage cannot provide a direct equivalent to permanent fossil-carbon emissions.

Ocean alkalinity enhancement through restoration of blue carbon ecosystems | Mojtaba Fakhraee et al. | Nature Sustainability | 2023-05-29

Explores whether restoring blue-carbon ecosystems could affect ocean alkalinity and strengthen longer-term carbon dioxide removal.

Inorganic blue carbon sequestration | Olivier Sulpis and Jack J. Middelburg | Nature Sustainability | 2023-05-29

Highlights the frequently overlooked role of inorganic carbon processes when evaluating blue-carbon sequestration and climate benefits.

Mangrove Blue Carbon

Mangrove soil and vegetation carbon stocks in northeastern Brazil | P.R.M. Araújo et al. | Wetlands Ecology and Management | 2026-04-30

Quantifies aboveground and belowground mangrove carbon stocks in northeastern Brazil and identifies important spatial differences.

Triple-feature fusion from UAV multispectral imagery enhances species-level mangrove carbon assessment | Yu Chen et al. | Scientific Reports | 2026-03-01

Uses drone-based multispectral data to improve species-level estimates of mangrove biomass and carbon storage.

Spatial modelling of mangrove AGC stock using vegetation indices and LULC changes in coastal area of Teluknaga and Kosambi, Indonesia | Various authors | Anthropocene Coasts | 2026

Uses satellite vegetation indices and land-use change data to estimate spatial patterns in aboveground mangrove carbon stocks.

Mangrove sediment carbon burial offset by methane emissions from mangrove tree stems | Guoming Qin, Zhe Lu, Faming Wang et al. | Nature Geoscience | 2025-11-14

Shows that methane released through mangrove stems can offset part of the climate benefit associated with sediment carbon burial.

Blue Carbon Potential of Mangrove Ecosystems in Jakarta Bay for Climate Change Mitigation | Mario Raja Sani Dawi et al. | ILMU KELAUTAN | 2025-10-01

Quantifies the carbon-storage potential of mangroves around Jakarta Bay and discusses their role in urban coastal climate strategies.

The nature of soil blue carbon varies across mangrove geomorphic settings | Marie Arnaud et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-09-09

Shows that mangrove geomorphology strongly influences soil-carbon sources, accumulation patterns, and the interpretation of blue-carbon stocks.

The Blue Carbon Explorer: a Google Earth Engine tool for mangrove restoration | V.P. McNulty et al. | Frontiers in Environmental Science | 2025-09-05

Introduces an online geospatial tool designed to identify and evaluate areas suitable for mangrove restoration and carbon projects.

Estimasi Serapan dan Nilai Ekonomi Karbon Rhizophora apiculata di Kawasan Konservasi Perairan Nias Utara | Khairul Lubis et al. | Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Kelautan Tropis | 2025-06-30

Estimates carbon uptake and its economic value in Rhizophora apiculata mangroves within a marine conservation area in North Nias, Indonesia.

Strategic mangrove restoration increases carbon stock capacity | Sebrian M. Beselly et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-05-31

Demonstrates how strategically targeted mangrove restoration can substantially increase landscape-scale carbon-storage potential.

Mangrove blue carbon in Laguna de Términos, México, a protected area: Spatial variability, sources and factors related | Jorge A. Herrera-Silveira et al. | Regional Studies in Marine Science | 2025

Examines spatial differences in mangrove carbon stocks and the environmental factors controlling carbon accumulation in a major Mexican protected area.

Root exudates in mangrove forests accelerate bicarbonate production in the soil environment | Norihiro Kato et al. | Scientific Reports | 2024-12-30

Finds that compounds released from mangrove roots can stimulate soil processes that produce bicarbonate, revealing an additional pathway in mangrove carbon cycling.

Mangrove vulnerability and blue carbon storage in the Coral Triangle Areas, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia | K. Analuddin et al. | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | 2024-11-07

Connects measurements of mangrove carbon stocks with assessments of ecological vulnerability in Indonesia's globally important Coral Triangle region.

Blue Carbon Potential of Mangrove Ecosystems and Its Management to Promote Climate Change Mitigation in Indonesia | Rahman Rahman et al. | Jurnal Ilmu Kehutanan | 2024-10-30

Reviews mangrove carbon potential in Indonesia and evaluates management approaches for incorporating these ecosystems into climate mitigation.

A global assessment of mangrove soil organic carbon sources and implications for blue carbon credit | Jingfan Zhang et al. | Nature Communications | 2024-10-18

Examines where mangrove soil carbon originates and discusses consequences for determining additionality and issuing carbon credits.

The role of blue carbon in reversing mangrove degradation trends in Mexico | M.F. Adame et al. | Biological Conservation | 2024-10

Evaluates how blue-carbon finance and conservation strategies could contribute to reversing mangrove degradation in Mexico.

Contributions of plant- and microbial-derived residuals to mangrove soil carbon stocks: Implications for blue carbon sequestration | Guoming Qin et al. | Functional Ecology | 2024-01-03

Separates plant- and microbial-derived components of mangrove soil organic matter to clarify the biological processes responsible for long-term carbon storage.

Ecological restoration at pilot-scale employing site-specific rationales for small-patch degraded mangroves in Indian Sundarbans | Various authors | Scientific Reports | 2024

Tests restoration strategies tailored to local ecological conditions in degraded mangrove patches of the Indian Sundarbans.

Estimated mangrove carbon stocks and fluxes to inform MRV for REDD+ using a process-based model | Various authors | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2023-11-05

Uses process-based modeling to estimate mangrove carbon stocks and fluxes in ways that could strengthen monitoring, reporting, and verification for REDD+ programs.

Mangrove reforestation provides greater blue carbon benefit than afforestation for mitigating global climate change | Shanshan Song et al. | Nature Communications | 2023-02-10

Finds that restoring previously existing mangroves can produce greater carbon benefits than establishing mangroves in historically unvegetated areas.

Deriving emission factors for mangrove blue carbon ecosystem in Indonesia | Various authors | Scientific Reports | 2023

Develops locally relevant emission factors that can improve Indonesia's accounting of greenhouse-gas emissions caused by mangrove conversion.

Blue carbon stock heterogeneity in Brazilian mangrove forests: A systematic review | Various authors | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 2023

Reviews Brazilian mangrove studies and shows that carbon storage differs greatly according to climate, geomorphology, vegetation, sediment, and sampling methods.

Future carbon emissions from global mangrove forest loss | Maria F. Adame et al. | Global Change Biology | 2021-03-17

Projects future greenhouse-gas emissions associated with mangrove loss and identifies regions where preventing deforestation could deliver especially large climate benefits.

Brazilian Mangroves: Blue Carbon Hotspots of National and Global Relevance to Natural Climate Solutions | Various authors | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change | 2021

Reviews the exceptional carbon value of Brazilian mangroves and argues for stronger protection as part of national and international climate strategies.

Mangrove blue carbon stocks and dynamics are controlled by hydrogeomorphic settings and land-use change | Sigit D. Sasmito et al. | Global Change Biology | 2020-02-29

Shows that geomorphic setting and land-use history strongly influence both mangrove carbon stocks and the consequences of ecosystem conversion.

Blue carbon of Mexico, carbon stocks and fluxes: a systematic review | Various authors | PeerJ | 2020

Compiles Mexican blue-carbon research across mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, and other coastal environments and identifies major geographic data gaps.

Preservation and recovery of mangrove ecosystem carbon stocks in abandoned shrimp ponds | Angie Elwin et al. | Scientific Reports | 2019-12-04

Investigates whether mangrove carbon stocks can recover after shrimp aquaculture sites are abandoned and naturally recolonized.

Effect of land-use and land-cover change on mangrove blue carbon: A systematic review | Sigit D. Sasmito et al. | Global Change Biology | 2019

Synthesizes evidence showing that clearing, aquaculture, agriculture, and other land-use changes can cause major losses of mangrove biomass and soil carbon.

Global carbon stocks and potential emissions due to mangrove deforestation from 2000 to 2012 | Stuart E. Hamilton and Daniel A. Friess | Global Change Biology | 2018

Estimates global mangrove carbon stocks and potential emissions caused by deforestation during the early twenty-first century.

Global patterns in mangrove soil carbon stocks and losses | Trisha B. Atwood et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2017-06-26

Maps global variation in mangrove soil carbon and estimates the carbon losses associated with mangrove deforestation and degradation.

The potential of Indonesian mangrove forests for global climate change mitigation | Daniel Murdiyarso et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2015

Demonstrates the extraordinary carbon density of Indonesian mangroves and their importance for reducing national land-use emissions.

Seagrass Blue Carbon

Blue carbon storage in surface sediments of seagrasses and mangroves for Mauritian inventories | Rui Santos et al. | Scientific Reports | 2026-06-25

Provides field measurements of sediment carbon to strengthen national blue-carbon inventories for Mauritius.

Fixed-Station Carbon Density Observations in a Zostera marina Meadow at Caofeidian | Yan Zheng, Wenhai Lu, Hefeng Wang and Lijing Deng | Sustainability | 2026-06-15

Uses repeated fixed-station observations to investigate carbon-density patterns within an eelgrass meadow in coastal China.

Quantification of blue carbon storage in seagrass meadows across different management strategies in Lamu, Kenya | Simangele Sithole, Cornelius Okello and Margaret Awuor Owuor | Scientific Reports | 2026-05-21

Compares carbon storage among differently managed seagrass meadows in Lamu and evaluates implications for community-based conservation.

Machine learning approaches to estimate Zostera marina carbon stocks across northern temperate oceans | N.M. Wilson et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-01-15

Applies machine-learning methods to estimate eelgrass carbon stocks across broad northern temperate marine regions.

Blue carbon sequestration dominated by dissolved organic carbon pathways for kelp forests and eelgrass meadows in Nova Scotia, Canada | Kira A. Krumhansl et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2026-01-02

Finds that dissolved organic carbon export can dominate sequestration pathways in eelgrass meadows and kelp forests.

Limited site-specific blue carbon recovery following tropical seagrass restoration in Thailand | Various authors | Marine Environmental Research | 2026

Finds that restoration does not necessarily produce rapid recovery of sediment carbon, emphasizing the importance of site conditions and project timescales.

Disturbance and recovery of seagrass blue carbon: A large-scale in situ experiment | Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis et al. | Science of the Total Environment | 2026

Uses field-scale experimental disturbance to investigate how seagrass carbon stocks respond to habitat loss and how rapidly carbon functions recover.

Global estimates of seagrass blue carbon stocks in biomass and net primary production | Enric Gomis et al. | Nature Communications | 2025-10-29

Produces global estimates of carbon stored in seagrass biomass and incorporated annually through primary production.

Seagrass ecosystems in peril: Climate change threatens blue carbon storage and ecosystem services | Linlin Song et al. | iScience | 2025-06-16

Reviews how warming, sea-level rise, marine heatwaves, and other climate pressures threaten seagrass carbon storage and ecosystem services.

Carbon dynamics under loss and restoration scenarios in the world’s largest seagrass meadow | Monica M. Moritsch et al. | Scientific Reports | 2025-05-16

Models how seagrass decline and restoration alter carbon storage in an exceptionally large seagrass ecosystem.

Nutrient Enrichment Increases Blue Carbon Potential of Subtropical Seagrass Beds | Bridget F. Shayka et al. | Global Change Biology | 2025

Investigates how nutrient availability affects seagrass productivity, sediment processes, and the potential accumulation of blue carbon.

Spatial variability in blue carbon storage and sequestration of seagrass meadows in southern China | Various authors | Science of the Total Environment | 2024-11-15

Documents large spatial differences in seagrass carbon stocks and sequestration rates and examines the environmental factors producing that variability.

Quantifying sedimentary “blue carbon” in relation to canopy cover in the seagrass meadows of Turneffe Atoll, Belize | Stacey L. Felgate et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2024-11-15

Examines relationships between seagrass canopy cover and sediment carbon storage at Belize's Turneffe Atoll.

Assessment of coral reef connectivity in improved organic carbon storage of seagrass ecosystems in Palk Bay, India | Rajamohanan Pillai Ranith et al. | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 2024-10

Examines whether ecological connectivity with coral reefs improves organic-carbon accumulation within nearby seagrass ecosystems.

Large-scale environmental signals in seagrass blue carbon stocks are hidden by high variability at local scales | Various authors | Science of the Total Environment | 2024-04-15

Shows that strong local variation can obscure broader climatic and environmental controls on seagrass sediment carbon stocks.

Seagrasses produce most of the soil blue carbon in three Maldivian islands | Peter I. Macreadie et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2024-03-06

Finds that local seagrass productivity accounts for most soil organic carbon measured around three Maldivian islands.

Quantifying blue carbon stocks in interconnected seagrass, coral reef, and sandy coastline ecosystems in the Western Gulf of Thailand | Thamasak Yeemin et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2024

Examines carbon storage across interconnected tropical habitats rather than treating seagrass meadows as isolated carbon systems.

Substantial seagrass blue carbon pools in the southwestern Baltic Sea include relics of terrestrial peatlands | Angela Stevenson et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2023-12-15

Finds that substantial carbon beneath Baltic seagrass meadows can include ancient terrestrial peat, highlighting the need to identify carbon sources accurately.

Mapping Seagrass Meadows and Assessing Blue Carbon Stocks Using Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery: A Case Study in the Canary Islands, Spain | Jorge Veiras-Yanes et al. | Environmental Sciences Proceedings | 2023-12-06

Demonstrates how Sentinel-2 satellite imagery can map seagrass extent and support regional estimates of blue-carbon stocks.

Seagrass Blue Carbon Stock and Air–Sea CO2 Fluxes in the Karimunjawa Islands, Indonesia during Southeast Monsoon Season | Various authors | Diversity | 2023-08-29

Measures seagrass carbon stocks together with air–sea carbon dioxide exchange to assess whether Indonesian meadows act as net carbon sinks.

Sedimentary seagrass carbon stock and sources of organic carbon across contrasting seagrass meadows in Indonesia | Various authors | Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 2023-08-19

Compares sediment carbon stocks and carbon sources among Indonesian seagrass meadows with contrasting ecological characteristics.

Small carbon stocks in sediments of Baltic Sea eelgrass meadows | M. Billman, I.R. Santos and M. Jahnke | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2023-08-16

Reports comparatively low sediment carbon stocks in Baltic eelgrass meadows, illustrating that seagrass carbon benefits cannot simply be generalized among regions.

Blue carbon stocks in southern Africa's Endangered seagrass Zostera capensis | Various authors | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2023-05-05

Quantifies carbon stocks within threatened Zostera capensis meadows and demonstrates the climate value of conserving this endangered southern African habitat.

Blue carbon and nutrient stocks in salt marsh and seagrass from an urban African estuary | Various authors | Science of the Total Environment | 2022-10-10

Compares carbon and nutrient storage in salt marshes and seagrasses within an urbanized African estuary and evaluates the effects of human pressure.

Geomorphic gradients in shallow seagrass carbon stocks | Various authors | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2022-02-05

Demonstrates that geomorphology and exposure can strongly influence the amount of carbon accumulated in shallow seagrass sediments.

Carbon stocks in southern England's intertidal seagrass meadows | M. do Amaral Camara Lima et al. | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science | 2022

Measures biomass and sediment carbon across intertidal seagrass meadows in southern England and evaluates spatial differences among sites.

A marine heatwave drives massive losses from the world's largest seagrass carbon stocks | Ariane Arias-Ortiz et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2018-04-01

Shows how an extreme marine heatwave caused widespread seagrass mortality and substantial losses from a globally significant carbon reservoir in Western Australia.

Net uptake of atmospheric CO2 by coastal submerged aquatic vegetation | Tatsuki Tokoro et al. | Global Change Biology | 2014-03-13

Provides evidence that submerged vegetated coastal ecosystems can cause net atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake under appropriate environmental conditions.

Seagrass Restoration Enhances “Blue Carbon” Sequestration in Coastal Waters | Jill T. Greiner et al. | PLOS ONE | 2013-08-14

Finds that restored seagrass meadows can progressively rebuild sediment carbon stocks, providing early evidence for restoration-driven blue-carbon gains.

Seagrass sediments as a global carbon sink: Isotopic constraints | Hilary Kennedy et al. | Global Biogeochemical Cycles | 2010-12-10

Uses stable isotopes to determine the origins of organic matter in seagrass sediments and assess the ecosystems' importance as global carbon sinks.

Salt Marshes and Tidal Wetlands

Global blue carbon losses from salt marshes exceed restoration gains | Yuhan Zheng et al. | Nature Communications | 2026-04-24

Finds that recent carbon losses from degrading salt marshes substantially exceed gains produced by restoration worldwide.

Do coastal salt mudflats (sabkhas) contribute to the blue carbon sequestration? | Hadil Elsayed et al. | Biogeochemistry | 2025-01-15

Investigates whether unvegetated coastal sabkhas should be considered significant components of coastal blue-carbon budgets.

Seascape connectivity with mangroves positively influences tropical saltmarsh blue carbon stocks | Amrit Kumar Mishra et al. | Science of the Total Environment | 2025

Finds that connectivity with nearby mangroves can increase the carbon stocks held within tropical salt marshes.

Blue carbon storage of tidal flats and salt marshes: A comparative assessment in two Chinese coastal areas | Various authors | Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | 2024-12-01

Compares carbon stocks in vegetated salt marshes and adjacent unvegetated tidal flats to clarify the contribution of both habitats to coastal carbon storage.

Soil carbon in the world’s tidal marshes | Tania L. Maxwell et al. | Nature Communications | 2024-11-26

Synthesizes global measurements to improve understanding of the magnitude and geographic distribution of tidal-marsh soil carbon.

Blue carbon dynamics across a salt marsh-seagrass ecotone in a cool-temperate estuary | Tiaan Engelbrecht, Sophie von der Heyden and Andrew Ndhlovu | Plant and Soil | 2024-10-01

Examines carbon storage across the ecological transition between salt-marsh vegetation and seagrass in a temperate estuary.

Application of remote sensing methods for monitoring extent, condition and blue carbon storage in salt marshes | Various authors | Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment | 2024-08

Reviews and tests remote-sensing approaches for simultaneously tracking salt-marsh area, ecological condition, and associated carbon stocks.

Dormant season warming amplifies daytime CO2 emissions from a temperate urban salt marsh | A.M. Vieillard, P. Girguis and R.W. Fulweiler | Frontiers in Environmental Science | 2024-07-05

Shows that winter warming can increase carbon dioxide emissions from urban salt marshes, altering their greenhouse-gas balance.

Blue carbon additionality: New insights from the radiocarbon content of saltmarsh soils and their respired CO2 | Alex Houston et al. | Limnology and Oceanography | 2024-02-22

Uses radiocarbon measurements to distinguish newly accumulated carbon from old carbon and improve assessment of true restoration additionality.

The role of tidal creeks in shaping carbon and nitrogen patterns in a Chinese salt marsh | Z. Ma et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2024

Examines how tidal-creek networks influence carbon and nitrogen distribution within a coastal salt-marsh landscape.

Blue Carbon Assessment in the Salt Marshes of the Venice Lagoon: Dimensions, Variability and Influence of Storm-Surge Regulation | Various authors | Earth's Future | 2024

Quantifies salt-marsh carbon in Venice Lagoon and examines how hydrological regulation and storm-surge management may alter carbon accumulation.

Accurate carbon storage estimation for the salt marsh ecosystem based on Bayesian maximum entropy approach – A case study for the Spartina alterniflora ecosystem | Various authors | Journal of Environmental Management | 2024

Applies spatial statistical modeling to improve estimates of carbon storage in Spartina-dominated salt-marsh ecosystems.

The blue carbon of southern southwest Atlantic salt marshes and their biotic and abiotic drivers | Paulina Martinetto et al. | Nature Communications | 2023-12-22

Quantifies carbon stocks across South American salt marshes and identifies biological and environmental controls on their distribution.

Blue carbon gain by plant invasion in saltmarsh overcompensated carbon loss by land reclamation | Jinge Zhou et al. | Carbon Research | 2023-10-23

Finds that invasive marsh vegetation increased carbon storage enough in the study area to offset estimated carbon losses associated with reclamation, while raising broader ecological tradeoffs.

Blue carbon benefits from global saltmarsh restoration | Victoria G. Mason et al. | Global Change Biology | 2023-09-25

Synthesizes restoration studies worldwide to quantify the carbon gains achievable through recovering degraded salt marshes.

Maximizing blue carbon stocks through saltmarsh restoration | Lucy McMahon et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2023-03-30

Evaluates restoration approaches that can increase carbon accumulation while restoring the broader ecological functions of salt marshes.

Dynamics of Carbon Storage in Saltmarshes Across China’s Eastern Coastal Wetlands From 1987 to 2020 | Various authors | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2022

Reconstructs several decades of changes in salt-marsh extent and carbon storage along China's eastern coast.

Refining Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Salt Marsh “Blue Carbon” Erosion and Decomposition | Nathan D. McTigue et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2021-04-27

Improves estimates of how much carbon dioxide may ultimately be released when salt-marsh soils erode and their organic matter decomposes.

Considering carbon in our Nation’s tidal freshwater wetlands | USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program | U.S. Geological Survey | 2019-05-30

Explains the carbon-storage importance of tidal freshwater wetlands and the need to include them in coastal carbon research.

Updated estimates of carbon accumulation rates in coastal marsh sediments | Xiaoguang Ouyang and Shing Yip Lee | Biogeosciences | 2014-09-19

Revises global estimates of carbon burial in coastal marsh sediments using a broader database and highlights substantial geographic variability.

Restoration, Conservation, and Coastal Wetland Management

Investment in coastal wetland restoration yields high returns in blue carbon and ecosystem services in China | Jinge Zhou et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2026

Evaluates the carbon and ecosystem-service returns generated by investment in restoring China's coastal wetlands.

Ecosystem carbon and nitrogen recovery in restored coastal wetlands | Hua-Yu Chen et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-12-09

Tracks the recovery of carbon and nitrogen functions after coastal-wetland restoration and identifies factors affecting recovery rates.

Impact of Ecological Restoration on Carbon Sink Function in Coastal Wetlands: A Review | Xiaoqun Guo et al. | Water | 2025-02-09

Reviews evidence for how restoration changes carbon sequestration, greenhouse-gas fluxes, and carbon stocks in coastal wetlands.

Getting the best of carbon bang for mangrove restoration buck | Jingfan Zhang et al. | Nature Communications | 2025-02-03

Examines how mangrove restoration investments can be targeted to maximize additional carbon gains per unit of expenditure.

Rapid Infill of Abandoned Tidal Channels Creates Hotspots for Blue-Carbon Accumulation in Coastal Wetlands | Various authors | Geophysical Research Letters | 2025

Shows that abandoned tidal channels can rapidly fill with sediment and become localized hotspots of carbon accumulation within coastal wetlands.

Protecting Coastal Blue Carbon Through Habitat Conservation | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2025

Explains how protecting and restoring coastal habitats can prevent emissions while preserving long-term natural carbon sinks.

Blue Carbon Stocks Along the Pacific Coast of North America Are Mainly Driven by Local Rather Than Regional Factors | Various authors | Global Biogeochemical Cycles | 2025

Finds that local geomorphology, vegetation, and sediment conditions explain coastal wetland carbon stocks better than broad regional-scale predictors.

Fantastic wetlands and why to monitor them: Demonstrating the social and financial benefit potential of methane abatement through salt marsh restoration | Various authors | PLOS Climate | 2024-07-05

Examines whether restoring tidal exchange can reduce methane emissions while generating ecological, climate, and potential financial benefits.

Restoring blue carbon ecosystems | Daniel A. Friess et al. | Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures | 2024-05-17

Reviews ecological principles, restoration methods, carbon outcomes, limitations, and co-benefits across mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses.

Vegetation growth characteristics and the blue carbon effect of restored salt marshes at different developmental ages in Hengsha, the Yangtze River Estuary | Various authors | Journal of East China Normal University | 2024-01-23

Compares restored salt marshes of different ages to determine how vegetation development influences carbon accumulation through time.

Lessons learned on the feasibility of coastal wetland restoration for blue carbon and co-benefits in Australia | Various authors | Journal of Environmental Management | 2024

Reviews practical Australian restoration experience and identifies ecological, regulatory, financial, and social factors affecting blue-carbon project feasibility.

Effects of comprehensive elimination of Spartina alterniflora along China's coast on blue carbon and scenario prediction after ecological restoration | Various authors | Journal of Environmental Management | 2024

Evaluates how large-scale removal of invasive Spartina may alter coastal carbon stocks and models possible carbon trajectories following ecological restoration.

Editorial: Carbon sinks in coastal wetlands: influences from multiple factors | Yanyan Lu et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2024

Introduces research on climatic, hydrological, biological, sedimentary, and human controls over carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands.

Assessment of Landscape-Scale Fluxes of Carbon Dioxide and Methane in Subtropical Coastal Wetlands of South Florida | Various authors | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences | 2024

Measures carbon dioxide and methane exchange across subtropical wetlands to evaluate their net greenhouse-gas balance at landscape scale.

A decision support tool to help identify blue carbon sites for restoration | Siegmund Nuyts et al. | Journal of Environmental Management | 2024

Presents a decision-support approach for prioritizing coastal areas where blue-carbon restoration could produce the greatest benefits.

Blue carbon sinks in South Africa and the need for restoration to enhance carbon sequestration | Various authors | Science of the Total Environment | 2023-02-10

Assesses South Africa's major blue-carbon ecosystems and argues that restoration could recover carbon sequestration while delivering biodiversity and adaptation benefits.

The Role of Blue Carbon Ecosystems in Natural Infrastructure | NOAA NCCOS | NOAA | 2023-01-25

Describes how blue-carbon habitats combine carbon sequestration with flood reduction, shoreline stabilization, and other natural-infrastructure benefits.

Blue carbon drawdown by restored mangrove forests improves with age | P.E. Carnell et al. | Journal of Environmental Management | 2022

Finds that carbon sequestration and storage in restored mangrove forests generally increase as restored stands mature.

Blue Carbon in Marine Protected Areas: Part 1; A Guide to Understanding and Increasing Protection of Blue Carbon | S.H. Hutto, M. Brown and E. Francis | NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries | 2021

Provides guidance for incorporating blue-carbon conservation into the planning and management of marine protected areas.

Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for assessing carbon stocks and emissions factors in mangroves, tidal salt marshes, and seagrass meadows | J. Howard et al., editors | The Blue Carbon Initiative | 2014; updated 2019

Provides standardized field and laboratory methods for measuring carbon stocks and emissions in major blue-carbon ecosystems.

Mapping, Measurement, MRV, and Carbon Accounting

Vegetation composition and sediment texture jointly shape carbon density in China’s coastal salt marshes: implications for stratified monitoring, reporting and verification | Yan Zheng et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-03-09

Shows how vegetation and sediment characteristics can improve stratified sampling and blue-carbon MRV in salt marshes.

Integrated and simultaneous mapping of blue carbon ecosystems by using tide-level, phenological, and biophysical features from optical and SAR images | Leping Wang, Qian Zhang and Yangfan Li | International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation | 2026-02

Combines satellite radar and optical information to improve simultaneous mapping of different coastal blue-carbon habitats.

Mapping blue carbon ecosystems from Earth observations at a national scale for Papua New Guinea | Christopher J. Owers et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2025-12-19

Demonstrates national-scale mapping of Papua New Guinea's blue-carbon ecosystems using remotely sensed Earth-observation data.

Soil organic carbon depth profiles and centennial and millennial decay rates in tidal marsh, mangrove and seagrass blue carbon ecosystems | N. Piñeiro-Juncal et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-07-01

Examines carbon persistence through soil depth and estimates long-term decay rates across three major blue-carbon ecosystems.

Monitoring, verifying and reporting of carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas fluxes in blue carbon ecosystems | Richard Bellerby and Christian Lindemann | One Ocean Science Congress 2025 | 2025-03-26

Examines requirements for credible monitoring, reporting, and verification of carbon sequestration and greenhouse-gas fluxes.

Additionality in Blue Carbon Ecosystems: Recommendations for a Universally Applicable Accounting Methodology | Alex Houston, Hilary Kennedy and William E.N. Austin | Global Change Biology | 2024-11-04

Proposes more consistent methods for establishing whether blue-carbon projects create carbon benefits beyond plausible baseline conditions.

New measurement methods and applications for blue carbon quantification | Tomohiro Kuwae | Journal of Advanced Marine Science and Technology Society | 2024-09-25

Reviews emerging technologies and methodologies for quantifying carbon sequestration across coastal and marine ecosystems.

Monitoring mangrove-based blue carbon ecosystems using UAVs: a review | W.S.W.M. Jaafar et al. | Geocarto International | 2024

Reviews the rapidly growing use of drones for mapping mangrove structure, biomass, condition, and carbon stocks.

Development of a spatially explicit model of blue carbon storages in tropical mudflat environment through integrated radar-optical approach and ground-based measurements | Debajit Datta et al. | Ecological Informatics | 2024

Integrates field measurements with radar and optical imagery to map carbon storage in tropical coastal mudflats.

Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context | USGS | U.S. Geological Survey | 2023-09-14

Reviews how climate change and evolving scientific understanding affect the measurement and management of coastal blue carbon.

Policy, Governance, Communities, and Blue Carbon Programs

Blue carbon as development – Opportunity or risk for coastal communities? | Alex Midlen | Ocean & Coastal Management | 2026-08

Examines whether blue-carbon development produces equitable local benefits or creates new social and economic risks for coastal communities.

Kenya Launches National Plan to Protect Blue Carbon Ecosystems | Kim Jensen and Thomas Hickey | The Pew Charitable Trusts | 2026-06-17

Describes Kenya's national blue-carbon strategy and its plans for conservation, restoration, research, finance, and community participation.

China’s blue carbon governance for sustainable development: ecological differentiation, policy architecture, and implementation pathways | Yan Zheng et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-06-03

Analyzes China's expanding blue-carbon policy system and proposes governance approaches suited to ecological differences among coastal regions.

Governing blue carbon ecosystems: a transnational environmental law analysis | Xiaochen Zhang, Yang Bai and Lucong Cao | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-04-15

Examines the fragmented international legal frameworks governing blue-carbon ecosystems and opportunities for stronger transnational coordination.

Hannah Morrissette: Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Blue Carbon and the Quest to Make a More Resilient World | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | 2026-04-09

Explores how Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge can complement carbon science and strengthen culturally appropriate coastal stewardship.

Allocation and adaptation in China’s blue carbon policy: a quantitative textual analysis based on a “theme-instrument-stage” framework | Lili Li and Xiaochen Zhang | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-03-19

Uses policy-text analysis to examine how China's blue-carbon policy instruments have evolved across different development stages.

Research on the nonlinear impact of heterogeneous environmental regulations on marine carbon sink performance | Fang Ye, Xiaodong Sun and Jiaqiang Shen | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-02-20

Investigates how different forms and intensities of environmental regulation affect marine carbon-sink performance.

U.S. States Play Major Role Boosting, Expanding ‘Blue Carbon’ | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | updated 2026-02-02

Reviews how U.S. states are incorporating coastal carbon into greenhouse-gas inventories, habitat policies, restoration strategies, and climate planning.

The United Nations and global blue carbon governance: a policy and practice review of frameworks, challenges, and possible pathways | Jian He and Min Cao | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-01-26

Reviews how United Nations institutions address blue carbon and identifies gaps in global coordination, finance, and implementation.

Embedding ecosystem-based adaptive management in blue carbon markets: a conceptual framework and operational roadmap for China | Yan Zheng et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026-01-07

Proposes integrating adaptive ecosystem management into blue-carbon markets to strengthen ecological integrity and project durability.

What on Earth is ‘blue carbon’? | Conservation International | Conservation International | 2026

Explains how coastal ecosystems capture carbon, why their destruction generates emissions, and why conservation can produce benefits beyond climate mitigation.

Blue carbon projects must uphold the land and sea rights of coastal peoples | S. Lawless et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2026

Argues that blue-carbon initiatives need strong safeguards for customary tenure, coastal livelihoods, participation, and community rights.

‘Blue Carbon’: A Natural Ally in the Fight Against Climate Change | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | updated 2025-01-28

Explains the climate value of conserving coastal wetlands and outlines ways governments can incorporate blue carbon into national climate commitments.

Measuring mangroves: Understanding Panama’s blue carbon stock | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | Smithsonian Institution | 2024-05-09

Describes field research measuring Panama's mangrove biomass and soils to improve national understanding of coastal carbon stocks.

To Best Fight Climate Change, ‘Blue Carbon’ Habitats Must First Survive It | Sylvia Troost and Alex Clayton Moya | The Pew Charitable Trusts | 2023-01-31

Emphasizes that sea-level rise, warming, storms, and development threaten the persistence of the same coastal habitats relied upon for long-term carbon storage.

International policy framework for blue carbon ecosystems | IUCN and Conservation International | IUCN | 2023

Maps international agreements and policy mechanisms that countries can use to protect and restore mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes.

Blue carbon | International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN | 2017-11

Provides an overview of coastal blue-carbon science and explains its relevance to climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity, and international policy.

Next steps for carbon accounting from coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems | IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature | 2017-05-10

Discusses efforts to improve greenhouse-gas accounting so countries can more accurately include coastal wetlands in climate inventories and commitments.

Coastal blue carbon ecosystems: Opportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions | UN Environment Programme | UNEP | 2016

Explains how countries can incorporate mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses into national commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Our Blue Carbon Program | Conservation International | Conservation International | n.d.

Describes international projects combining coastal ecosystem conservation, carbon science, policy development, finance, and community participation.

Blue Carbon Finance and Carbon Markets

Assessing the carbon market potential of global seagrass recovery | Ralph Chami et al. | npj Ocean Sustainability | 2026-06-21

Estimates the carbon-market potential associated with restoring degraded seagrass ecosystems around the world.

Singapore advances carbon market innovation and financing through Blue Catalyst challenge and new Carbon Project Development Grant awards | Singapore Economic Development Board | Singapore EDB | 2026-05-22

Describes Singapore initiatives intended to stimulate investment, innovation, and development of high-integrity blue-carbon projects.

Turning the Tide: A Financier’s Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems | World Economic Forum | World Economic Forum | 2026-04-14

Provides financial institutions with guidance for evaluating and investing in conservation and restoration of blue-carbon ecosystems.

The Blue Carbon Cost Tool – understanding market potential and investment requirements for high-quality coastal wetland projects | S. Simpson et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2025-11-04

Introduces a tool for estimating restoration costs, financial requirements, and potential carbon-market viability of coastal wetland projects.

The rise and flows of blue carbon credits advance global climate and biodiversity goals | Shekoofeh Farahmand, Nathalie Hilmi and Carlos M. Duarte | npj Ocean Sustainability | 2025-07-10

Examines the development and geographic flow of blue-carbon credits and their potential contribution to climate and biodiversity goals.

Why Countries Should Invest in Coastal Wetlands Conservation Now | Anelise Zimmer, Peter Edwards and Elizabeth Francis | The Pew Charitable Trusts | 2025-06-04

Explains the economic, climate, biodiversity, fisheries, and coastal-protection case for increased investment in conserving coastal wetlands.

Permanence risks limit blue carbon financing strategies to safeguard Southeast Asian mangroves | Valerie Kwan et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-01-28

Shows how future climate and land-use risks can undermine carbon permanence and affect the financing of mangrove projects.

Ghana: A Blue Carbon Readiness Assessment | World Bank | World Bank | 2024-11

Evaluates Ghana's ecosystems, institutions, policies, financing opportunities, and technical capacity for developing blue-carbon initiatives.

Sustainably developing global blue carbon for climate change mitigation and economic benefits through international cooperation | Cuicui Feng et al. | Nature Communications | 2023-10-02

Models how international cooperation could distribute blue-carbon conservation costs and benefits while improving global climate outcomes.

Unlocking Blue Carbon Development | World Bank | World Bank | n.d.

Presents a development framework for mobilizing finance while protecting coastal ecosystems and supporting communities dependent upon them.

Regional Studies, Inventories, and National Resources

Mangrove and Seagrass Blue Carbon Stocks and Fluxes Across ASEAN: A Dual-Framework Assessment of Soil Carbon Dynamics and Policy Implications | Tri Ngearnlek and Wei-Ta Fang | Wetlands | 2026-06-15

Compares mangrove and seagrass carbon dynamics across Southeast Asia and considers implications for ASEAN climate policy.

Blue carbon stocks, accumulation rates and knowledge gaps in Africa | Janine B. Adams et al. | Ocean & Coastal Management | 2026-06

Synthesizes available African blue-carbon measurements and identifies major geographic and ecosystem gaps in current knowledge.

Blue carbon ecosystems in Vietnam: a review | Bijeesh Kozhikkodan Veettil and Vikram Puri | Ocean & Coastal Management | 2025-08

Reviews the status, carbon importance, threats, research gaps, and conservation opportunities of Vietnam's blue-carbon ecosystems.

Pacific Coast Tidal Wetlands Store Vast Amounts of Carbon, New Study Confirms | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | 2025-06-02

Highlights research documenting substantial carbon stocks in tidal wetlands along the Pacific coast of North America and implications for conservation.

Using Blue Carbon as a Nature-Based Solution to Enhance the Management and Carbon Accounting of Coastal Ecosystems Through International Collaboration | NOAA Climate Program Office | NOAA | 2024-12-13

Describes international efforts to improve blue-carbon science, management, accounting, and capacity building through collaborative research and technical assistance.

Mangrove and Seagrass Mapping Informs Jamaica’s Climate Policy | Peter Edwards | The Pew Charitable Trusts | 2024-08-14

Describes how improved habitat mapping is helping Jamaica quantify blue carbon and strengthen national climate policy.

What is Blue Carbon? | NOAA | NOAA Ocean Service | updated 2024-06-16

Provides an accessible overview of blue carbon and explains why coastal habitats are unusually effective long-term carbon sinks.

Coastal Wetland Blue Carbon in Aotearoa New Zealand | The Nature Conservancy and partners | The Nature Conservancy | 2024

Reviews New Zealand's coastal wetland carbon science, research needs, policy opportunities, restoration potential, and pathways toward improved national accounting.

How North Carolina Incorporated Seagrasses Into Its Blue Carbon Inventory | The Pew Charitable Trusts | The Pew Charitable Trusts | 2023-11

Explains how North Carolina developed methods for incorporating seagrass carbon into its greenhouse-gas and natural-resource accounting.

How Oregon Built Its Blue Carbon Greenhouse Gas Inventory | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | 2023-08-28

Explains the methods Oregon used to include coastal wetlands in its greenhouse-gas inventory and provides lessons for other jurisdictions.

The Blue Carbon Handbook: Blue Carbon as a Nature-Based Solution for Climate Action and Sustainable Development | Ocean Panel, International Partnership for Blue Carbon and Blue Carbon Initiative | High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy | 2023-06

Provides a comprehensive guide to blue-carbon science, policy, finance, implementation, safeguards, and sustainable-development opportunities.

From Pixels to Policy: How Maps Inform Climate and Conservation Decisions | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | 2023-05-25

Shows how satellite imagery, habitat maps, and spatial carbon data can guide coastal conservation and climate-policy decisions.

Why protecting & restoring blue carbon ecosystems matters | UN Environment Programme | UNEP | updated 2023-03-21

Explains why mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes are important for climate mitigation, biodiversity, adaptation, and coastal livelihoods.

The Blue Carbon Reservoirs from Maine to Long Island, NY | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 | EPA | 2023-03

Compiles information on coastal wetland carbon reservoirs across the northeastern United States and evaluates their significance for regional climate planning.

Fifth National Climate Assessment: Focus on Blue Carbon | U.S. Global Change Research Program | Fifth National Climate Assessment | 2023

Summarizes current U.S. scientific understanding of coastal blue-carbon ecosystems, climate threats, mitigation opportunities, and major research needs.

Understanding blue carbon | Michon Scott and Rebecca Lindsey | NOAA Climate.gov | 2022-09-29

Explains the science of coastal carbon storage, ecosystem loss, restoration, and the role of blue carbon in climate mitigation.

Pew Launches Blue Carbon Network to Help States Address Climate Change | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | 2022-04-29

Describes a collaborative network designed to help U.S. states share methods and experience for incorporating coastal habitats into climate policy.

Coastal ‘Blue Carbon’: An Important Tool for Combating Climate Change | The Pew Charitable Trusts | Pew | 2021-09-20

Summarizes the science supporting coastal blue carbon and outlines policy options for protecting carbon-rich coastal habitats.

Blue Carbon: The Role of Healthy Oceans in Binding Carbon | Christian Nellemann et al., editors | United Nations Environment Programme | 2009

Presents an early global synthesis of the carbon stored and sequestered by mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, and other marine ecosystems and helped popularize the term “blue carbon.”

Blue Carbon | U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | n.d.

Summarizes USGS research into carbon storage and greenhouse-gas dynamics across coastal wetlands and other blue-carbon environments.

Macroalgae, Kelp, Sediments, and Expanded Blue Carbon

Harnessing the microbial carbon pump: prospects and challenges for coastal carbon sequestration | Various authors | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2026

Reviews the possibility that microbial transformation of dissolved organic matter could contribute to durable carbon storage in coastal and marine systems.

Coastal Carbon Data Library and Atlas | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | updated 2025

Provides open datasets and mapping resources for comparing coastal wetland carbon stocks across regions and improving large-scale carbon assessments.

Blue carbon storage in a sub-Antarctic marine protected area | Lucia Bergagna et al. | Scientific Reports | 2024-09

Quantifies carbon stored within benthic habitats of a sub-Antarctic marine protected area and highlights the carbon value of high-latitude marine conservation.

Blue carbon in sediment from Sanggou Bay: composition, burial flux and its response to human activities | Jun Huang et al. | Frontiers in Marine Science | 2023

Examines organic-carbon composition and burial in a heavily used Chinese coastal bay and evaluates how aquaculture and other human activities influence carbon sequestration.

Substantial blue carbon in overlooked Australian kelp forests | Karen Filbee-Dexter and Thomas Wernberg | Scientific Reports | 2020

Estimates the large quantity of organic carbon produced and exported by Australia's extensive kelp forests and argues that kelp deserves greater attention in carbon budgets.

Important contribution of macroalgae to oceanic carbon sequestration | Alejandra Ortega et al. | Nature Geoscience | 2019-08-05

Provides evidence that macroalgal organic matter occurs widely in ocean sediments and deep waters, supporting a significant offshore sequestration pathway.

Substantial role of macroalgae in marine carbon sequestration | Dorte Krause-Jensen and Carlos M. Duarte | Nature Geoscience | 2016-09-12

Estimates that large quantities of macroalgal carbon are exported beyond coastal habitats and may ultimately be sequestered in deep ocean sediments and waters.

Kelp and Kelp Forests | Smithsonian Ocean | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.

Explains kelp ecology, productivity, biodiversity importance, and the growing scientific debate over the role of kelp forests in marine carbon sequestration.

Coastal Carbon Network | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.

Describes an international research network working to standardize, synthesize, and make accessible coastal wetland carbon measurements.

Blue Carbon | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.

Summarizes long-term Smithsonian research into carbon storage, greenhouse-gas fluxes, and environmental controls in tidal wetlands.