1
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
T. Kuwae, M. Hori (eds.), Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1295-3_1
Chapter 1
Blue Carbon: Characteristics
of the Ocean’s Sequestration and Storage
Ability of Carbon Dioxide
Masakazu Hori, Christopher J. Bayne, and Tomohiro Kuwae
Abstract The first life on Earth evolved in the ocean about 3.5 billion years ago.
Photosynthetic organisms, which first appeared in the ocean, eventually changed the
oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere to the current concentrations. This gaseous exchange was the first and can be considered as the most
important ecosystem service provided by marine ecosystems. That service has been
on-going from the first primitive photosynthetic organism to the present and reflects
the ability of the oceans to absorb carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, recent discussions
of sequestration of CO 2 have mainly promoted the concept of land-based green
carbon sequestered by terrestrial ecosystems.
The Blue Carbon Report, which was released in 2009, has shown that more than
50% of the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants on Earth is actually cycled into
the ocean; the remainder of the carbon dioxide absorbed by plants is stored in terrestrial ecosystems. More than half of the carbon stored in the ocean has been
sequestered by shallow coastal ecosystems, which account for only 0.5% or less of
the total ocean area. In addition, there is good evidence that shallow coastal ecosystems have been greatly affected by human activities and continue to be seriously
denuded. However, the importance of shallow coastal ecosystems has not yet
emerged as common knowledge within society in general, and full comprehension
of the role of shallow coastal ecosystems has not yet been applied to climate change
mitigation and adaptation strategies. For example, shallow coastal ecosystems are
not considered in the inventory of absorbed carbon dioxide. One reason is that the
sequestration and storage processes of blue carbon are complex, and it is still difficult to determine what criteria are essential for calculating the relative efficacy of
carbon sequestration in shallow coastal ecosystems versus terrestrial ecosystems. In
this chapter, which introduces this book, we give an overview of the key points of
M. Hori (*) · C. J. Bayne
National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Japan Fisheries
Research and Education Agency, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan
e-mail: mhori@affrc.go.jp
T. Kuwae
Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute,
Yokosuka, Japan
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
T. Kuwae, M. Hori (eds.), Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1295-3_1
Chapter 1
Blue Carbon: Characteristics
of the Ocean’s Sequestration and Storage
Ability of Carbon Dioxide
Masakazu Hori, Christopher J. Bayne, and Tomohiro Kuwae
Abstract The first life on Earth evolved in the ocean about 3.5 billion years ago.
Photosynthetic organisms, which first appeared in the ocean, eventually changed the
oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere to the current concentrations. This gaseous exchange was the first and can be considered as the most
important ecosystem service provided by marine ecosystems. That service has been
on-going from the first primitive photosynthetic organism to the present and reflects
the ability of the oceans to absorb carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, recent discussions
of sequestration of CO 2 have mainly promoted the concept of land-based green
carbon sequestered by terrestrial ecosystems.
The Blue Carbon Report, which was released in 2009, has shown that more than
50% of the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants on Earth is actually cycled into
the ocean; the remainder of the carbon dioxide absorbed by plants is stored in terrestrial ecosystems. More than half of the carbon stored in the ocean has been
sequestered by shallow coastal ecosystems, which account for only 0.5% or less of
the total ocean area. In addition, there is good evidence that shallow coastal ecosystems have been greatly affected by human activities and continue to be seriously
denuded. However, the importance of shallow coastal ecosystems has not yet
emerged as common knowledge within society in general, and full comprehension
of the role of shallow coastal ecosystems has not yet been applied to climate change
mitigation and adaptation strategies. For example, shallow coastal ecosystems are
not considered in the inventory of absorbed carbon dioxide. One reason is that the
sequestration and storage processes of blue carbon are complex, and it is still difficult to determine what criteria are essential for calculating the relative efficacy of
carbon sequestration in shallow coastal ecosystems versus terrestrial ecosystems. In
this chapter, which introduces this book, we give an overview of the key points of
M. Hori (*) · C. J. Bayne
National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, Japan Fisheries
Research and Education Agency, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan
e-mail: mhori@affrc.go.jp
T. Kuwae
Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute,
Yokosuka, Japan