Recommendations for strengthening blue carbon science

Martin Dahl; Paul S. Lavery; Inés Mazarrasa; Jimena Samper-Villarreal; Maria F. Adame; Stephen Crooks; Carlos M. Duarte; Daniel A. Friess; Dorte Krause-Jensen; Carmen Leiva-Dueñas; Catherine E. Lovelock; Peter I. Macreadie; Pere Masqué; Miguel Angel Mateo; Oscar Serrano

doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101175

Recommendations for strengthening blue carbon science

Martin Dahl^*, Paul S. Lavery, Inés Mazarrasa, Jimena Samper-Villarreal, Maria F. Adame, Stephen Crooks, Carlos M. Duarte, Daniel A. Friess, Dorte Krause-Jensen, Carmen Leiva-Dueñas, Catherine E. Lovelock, Peter I. Macreadie, Pere Masqué, Miguel Angel Mateo, Oscar Serrano^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Ecoscience - Marine Ecology

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Review › Research › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Blue carbon (BC) habitats (e.g., mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses) are important CO₂ sinks but are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Substantial research over the last decade has quantified BC to evaluate the climate benefits associated with habitat conservation and restoration. However, the exponential growth in BC science has resulted in differing approaches that hinder comparison across studies and increase uncertainty. Here, we synthesized existing data to depict the range of uncertainty associated to different BC methodologies and argue that cumulative biases linked to multiple methodologies can result in BC estimates differing by up to 10-fold. We identified 14 common research procedures that can be improved to strengthen BC biophysical assessments and support implementation of BC projects, and outlined good practices to align research with policy, management, and ethical values. Standardization of practices will help generate high-quality BC projects that can deliver multiple co-benefits for humans and the environment.

Original language	English
Article number	101175
Journal	One Earth
Volume	8
Issue	3
Pages (from-to)	1-18
Number of pages	18
ISSN	2590-3330
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101175
Publication status	Published - 21 Mar 2025

Keywords

climate change
mangrove
methodology
seagrass meadow
sediment
soil
tidal marsh

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Dahl, M., Lavery, P. S., Mazarrasa, I., Samper-Villarreal, J., Adame, M. F., Crooks, S., Duarte, C. M., Friess, D. A., Krause-Jensen, D., Leiva-Dueñas, C., Lovelock, C. E., Macreadie, P. I., Masqué, P., Mateo, M. A., & Serrano, O. (2025). Recommendations for strengthening blue carbon science. One Earth, 8(3), 1-18. Article 101175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101175

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title = "Recommendations for strengthening blue carbon science",

abstract = "Blue carbon (BC) habitats (e.g., mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses) are important CO2 sinks but are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Substantial research over the last decade has quantified BC to evaluate the climate benefits associated with habitat conservation and restoration. However, the exponential growth in BC science has resulted in differing approaches that hinder comparison across studies and increase uncertainty. Here, we synthesized existing data to depict the range of uncertainty associated to different BC methodologies and argue that cumulative biases linked to multiple methodologies can result in BC estimates differing by up to 10-fold. We identified 14 common research procedures that can be improved to strengthen BC biophysical assessments and support implementation of BC projects, and outlined good practices to align research with policy, management, and ethical values. Standardization of practices will help generate high-quality BC projects that can deliver multiple co-benefits for humans and the environment.",

keywords = "climate change, mangrove, methodology, seagrass meadow, sediment, soil, tidal marsh",

author = "Martin Dahl and Lavery, {Paul S.} and In{\'e}s Mazarrasa and Jimena Samper-Villarreal and Adame, {Maria F.} and Stephen Crooks and Duarte, {Carlos M.} and Friess, {Daniel A.} and Dorte Krause-Jensen and Carmen Leiva-Due{\~n}as and Lovelock, {Catherine E.} and Macreadie, {Peter I.} and Pere Masqu{\'e} and Mateo, {Miguel Angel} and Oscar Serrano",

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doi = "10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101175",

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AU - Lavery, Paul S.

AU - Mazarrasa, Inés

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AU - Adame, Maria F.

AU - Crooks, Stephen

AU - Duarte, Carlos M.

AU - Friess, Daniel A.

AU - Krause-Jensen, Dorte

AU - Leiva-Dueñas, Carmen

AU - Lovelock, Catherine E.

AU - Macreadie, Peter I.

AU - Masqué, Pere

AU - Mateo, Miguel Angel

AU - Serrano, Oscar

PY - 2025/3/21

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N2 - Blue carbon (BC) habitats (e.g., mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses) are important CO2 sinks but are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Substantial research over the last decade has quantified BC to evaluate the climate benefits associated with habitat conservation and restoration. However, the exponential growth in BC science has resulted in differing approaches that hinder comparison across studies and increase uncertainty. Here, we synthesized existing data to depict the range of uncertainty associated to different BC methodologies and argue that cumulative biases linked to multiple methodologies can result in BC estimates differing by up to 10-fold. We identified 14 common research procedures that can be improved to strengthen BC biophysical assessments and support implementation of BC projects, and outlined good practices to align research with policy, management, and ethical values. Standardization of practices will help generate high-quality BC projects that can deliver multiple co-benefits for humans and the environment.

AB - Blue carbon (BC) habitats (e.g., mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses) are important CO2 sinks but are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Substantial research over the last decade has quantified BC to evaluate the climate benefits associated with habitat conservation and restoration. However, the exponential growth in BC science has resulted in differing approaches that hinder comparison across studies and increase uncertainty. Here, we synthesized existing data to depict the range of uncertainty associated to different BC methodologies and argue that cumulative biases linked to multiple methodologies can result in BC estimates differing by up to 10-fold. We identified 14 common research procedures that can be improved to strengthen BC biophysical assessments and support implementation of BC projects, and outlined good practices to align research with policy, management, and ethical values. Standardization of practices will help generate high-quality BC projects that can deliver multiple co-benefits for humans and the environment.

KW - climate change

KW - mangrove

KW - methodology

KW - seagrass meadow

KW - sediment

KW - soil

KW - tidal marsh

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Recommendations for strengthening blue carbon science

Abstract

Keywords

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