Blue Carbon Ecosystems and Ecological Response to Climate Change
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 113
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
To fight against ongoing climate change, there has been a push from stakeholders at national and international levels, including governmental and private non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from our atmosphere and to create a future with net zero emissions. Blue carbon ecosystems, including ecosystems found along coastlines and the oceans, have great potential for CO2 removal and, when combined with the additional ecosystem services these ecosystems provide (e.g., storm surge protection, improved water quality, and habitat for commercially important fish and marine species), can lead to the improvement of the management and restoration practices of the ecosystems. However, ongoing climate change due to elevated atmospheric CO2 can significantly impact the carbon capture and ecosystem services provided by blue carbon ecosystems, including, but not limited to: (1) increasing rates of relative sea-level rise outpacing and drowning coastal wetlands; (2) increasing temperatures leading to increasing rates of carbon decomposition and further CO2 and methane (CH4) emissions; (3) species migrating with changing climates and outcompeting other species for resources (e.g. mangrove migration into saltmarshes, mangrove crab migration); and (4) increasing primary production of coastal ecosystems associated with warming.
This Special Issue examines the impacts of climate change on blue carbon ecosystems, and contributions that merge academic fields are strongly encouraged, including the science and policy associated with ecosystem changes in response to climate change. Studies on the development of blue carbon projects to combat CO2 emissions and the effects of climate change are strongly encouraged. Manuscripts published through this Special Issue will be integral in improving and strengthening existing governmental and non-governmental blue carbon frameworks for protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems worldwide.
Dr. Derrick Vaughn
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- blue carbon
- climate change
- carbon cycle
- coastal wetlands
- marine ecosystems
- ecosystem change
- climate policy
- coastal management
- coastal restoration
- carbon markets
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