Coastal blue carbon in China as a nature-based solution toward carbon neutrality

Abstract

To achieve the Paris Agreement, China pledged to become “Carbon Neutral” by the 2060s. In addition to massive decarbonization, this would require significant changes in ecosystems toward negative CO2 emissions. The ability of coastal blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), including mangrove, salt marsh, and seagrass meadows, to sequester large amounts of CO2 makes their conservation and restoration an important “nature-based solution (NbS)” for climate adaptation and mitigation. In this review, we examine how BCEs in China can contribute to climate mitigation. On the national scale, the BCEs in China store up to 118 Tg C across a total area of 1,440,377 ha, including over 75% as unvegetated tidal flats. The annual sedimental C burial of these BCEs reaches up to 2.06 Tg C year−1, of which most occurs in salt marshes and tidal flats. The lateral C flux of mangroves and salt marshes contributes to 1.17 Tg C year−1 along the Chinese coastline. Conservation and restoration of BCEs benefit climate change mitigation and provide other ecological services with a value of $32,000 ha−1 year−1. The potential practices and technologies that can be implemented in China to improve BCE C sequestration, including their constraints and feasibility, are also outlined. Future directions are suggested to improve blue carbon estimates on aerial extent, carbon stocks, sequestration, and mitigation potential. Restoring and preserving BCEs would be a cost-effective step to achieve Carbon Neutral by 2060 in China despite various barriers that should be removed. Public summary: • Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes, tidal flats, and seagrass meadows can be a key strategy for China to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. • Coastal ecosystems in China alone have stored large amounts of carbon, approximately 118 Tg C. • In addition to helping fight climate change, protecting these ecosystems also provides other cost-effective benefits, including storm protection, shoreline stabilization, water conservation, purification, high biodiversity, and productivity.