Monitoring Tools for the Sustainable Management of Organic Carbon in Coastal Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce this new Special Issue of the journal Sustainability, ‘Monitoring Tools for the Sustainable Management of Organic Carbon in Coastal Ecosystems’.

Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes are critical to the global carbon cycle, sequestering and storing significant amounts of "blue carbon". However, accurately quantifying the stocks, fluxes, and dynamics of this organic carbon remains a major scientific challenge. The effective management and conservation of these vital ecosystems, as well as their integration into climate mitigation strategies, depends entirely on the robustness of the data and predictive models used. Recent advances in technology and computational power are revolutionizing our ability to monitor, model, and forecast carbon cycling processes from the molecular to the landscape scale.

This Special Issue will highlight recent research on the development, application, and integration of the cutting-edge tools and methodologies used for understanding organic carbon cycling in coastal environments. We seek contributions that demonstrate how innovative approaches in sensing, remote observation, and modeling can bridge critical knowledge gaps and provide actionable insights for science-based policy and ecosystem management.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The deployment of advanced in situ sensors and autonomous systems (e.g., drones, AUVs, benthic chambers) for high-resolution monitoring of carbon fluxes and greenhouse gases.
• Applications of remote sensing technologies (e.g., LiDAR, hyperspectral imaging, SAR) for mapping carbon stocks, vegetation health, and habitat change.
• Development and validation of biogeochemical and ecological models to simulate carbon sequestration and forecast impacts of climate change and anthropogenic pressures.
• Integration of machine learning and AI with field data to upscale measurements, reduce uncertainty, and identify key drivers of carbon dynamics.
• Novel analytical and isotopic techniques (e.g., EA-IRMS, NMR, FT-ICR-MS) for tracing the source, composition, and fate of organic matter.
• Frameworks and toolkits for decision support, enabling carbon credit verification, restoration planning, and sustainable coastal zone management.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Shuchai Gan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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