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Blue carbon ecosystems under pollution stress: Impacts and integrated carbon‐pollution monitoring
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This review pulls together existing research showing that pollution, including nutrient runoff, heavy metals, oil, and microplastics, is weakening coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrass meadows that naturally trap planet-warming carbon. When these habitats are damaged, they can release stored carbon back into the air, which matters because these coastal areas help slow climate change, and climate change affects everyone's health, from air quality to extreme weather risks.
Abstract Coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes, are globally important carbon sinks because they store organic carbon in vegetation biomass and waterlogged sediments over long timescales. However, nutrient enrichment, heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, macroplastic and microplastic debris, and emerging contaminants increasingly threaten their capacity to sequester carbon. These pollutants reduce photosynthetic productivity, weaken root and rhizome systems, alter sediment redox conditions, disrupt microbial decomposition pathways, and may increase emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). This review synthesizes current evidence on how pollution alters carbon cycling across major blue carbon ecosystems, with emphasis on plant physiology, sediment stability, microbial processes, greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, and carbon stock permanence. It also evaluates monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) approaches that could integrate carbon measurements with pollutant diagnostics. In response to current methodological gaps, the review presents the Pollution‐Carbon Impact Framework (PCIF) as a conceptual decision‐support approach rather than a fully operational protocol. The PCIF is intended to guide future co‐located monitoring, indicator selection, site prioritization, and policy integration, while recognizing that standardized templates, open datasets, validated models, and Geographic Information System (GIS)‐based decision tools remain future requirements. The review concludes that reliable blue carbon accounting requires stronger integration between water‐quality governance, restoration planning, pollution control, and carbon‐credit verification.
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Researchers examined how microplastic pollution affects the ability of seagrass beds to capture and store carbon, a process important for combating climate change. Evidence indicates that microplastics can alter sediment properties, disrupt microbial communities, and inhibit seagrass growth, all of which reduce carbon storage capacity. The study highlights that microplastic contamination may be undermining one of nature's key tools for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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Coastal wetlands like mangroves and seagrasses (called "blue carbon" ecosystems) are prized for trapping and storing carbon that would otherwise warm the planet—but this research found that plastic pollution collecting in these areas can actually backfire, breaking down and fueling bacteria that release extra CO2 and methane back into the atmosphere. So-called "biodegradable" plastics were often worse offenders than conventional plastic, especially when mixed with fertilizer runoff or "forever chemicals" (PFAS), suggesting that plastic waste doesn't just pollute these ecosystems—it
Microplastic contamination in Southeast Asia’s blue carbon habitats – systematic review paper with bibliometric approach
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This systematic review examines microplastic contamination in Southeast Asia's mangrove forests and seagrass meadows, critical ecosystems that store carbon and support biodiversity. The findings show that these blue carbon habitats are increasingly contaminated with microplastics, threatening both ecosystem health and the coastal communities that depend on these environments for food and livelihood.
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