What is Blue Carbon?
Blue carbon refers to the carbon captured and stored by the world's coastal and marine ecosystems, primarily mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows. These ecosystems are highly efficient at sequestering and storing carbon in their biomass and underlying sediments.
Why is Blue Carbon important?
Blue carbon ecosystems are crucial for climate change mitigation because they sequester carbon at rates significantly higher than terrestrial forests and store it for very long periods. They also provide critical co-benefits such as coastal protection, biodiversity habitats, water filtration, and support for fisheries.
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Frequently asked questions
The main blue carbon ecosystems are mangroves, tidal marshes (salt marshes), and seagrass meadows. Some definitions also include kelp forests and other macroalgae.
These ecosystems store carbon primarily in their sediments, which are often anaerobic (low oxygen), slowing down decomposition and allowing for long-term accumulation of organic carbon for millennia.
Blue carbon ecosystems face significant threats from coastal development, pollution, unsustainable aquaculture, climate change impacts (e.g., sea-level rise, ocean warming), and direct destruction.