Blue carbon

Blue carbon is a term used in the climate change mitigation context that refers to "biologically driven carbon fluxes and storage in marine systems that are amenable to management."^: 2220 Most commonly, it refers to the role that tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses can play in carbon sequestration.^: 2220 Such ecosystems can contribute to climate change mitigation and also to ecosystem-based adaptation. When blue carbon ecosystems are degraded or lost they release carbon back to the atmosphere.^: 2220

Blue carbon management methods can be grouped into ocean-based biological carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods.^: 764 They are a type of biologic carbon sequestration.

There is increasing interest in developing blue carbon potential. Research is ongoing. In some cases it has been found that these types of ecosystems can remove carbon at a rate ten times greater than mature tropical forests. However, the long-term effectiveness of blue carbon as a carbon dioxide removal solution remains contested. The term deep blue carbon is also in use and includes efforts to store carbon in the deep ocean waters.