Reframing the Restoration Assessment Framework for Blue Carbon under Timescale Constraints on China's Shelf: A Case Study of the East China Sea

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摘要

As the pursuit of carbon neutrality progresses, the required accuracy of marine blue carbon accounting has risen considerably. Conventional accounting frameworks currently focus primarily on carbon fluxes while neglecting the persistence of sequestration. This paper synthesizes the carbon sink fluxes on the East China Sea shelf and introduces timescale as a core analytical dimension. By employing carbon‑14 isotope tracing techniques, we systematically quantify the turnover times of diverse carbon pools in China’s marginal seas. Our findings reveal significant temporal disparities among carbon pools on the East China Sea shelf, and further indicate that inputs of terrigenous “old carbon” and atmospheric “dead carbon” can seriously bias the estimation of genuine carbon sinks. Hence, it is imperative to integrate carbon age provenance techniques to establish a robust accounting system. On this basis, we propose three pivotal pathways: protecting habitats with high burial rates, advancing microbial carbon pump technologies for enhanced carbon removal, and developing timescale‑integrated accounting standards. This study aims to facilitate a transition in China’s blue carbon strategy from scale‑based accounting toward quality‑based certification, thereby providing scientific support for achieving carbon neutrality goals.

文献引用

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