Yuzhou Huang;Xi Xia

Ocean College, Zhejiang University, 1 Zheda Road, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021 (China); Key Laboratory of Watershed Non-point Source Pollution Control and Water Eco-security of Ministry of Water Resources, College of Environmental and Resources Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Ocean College, Zhejiang University, 1 Zheda Road, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021 (China; Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Monitoring and Restoration Technologies of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, 1515 Chuanqiao Road, Shanghai (China); Ocean Academy, Zhejiang University, 1 Zheda Road, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021 (China);Donghai Laboratory, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021 (China)

salt marshes;biochar;blue carbon;carbon stock;called;efficienc

Salt marshes are important blue carbon ecosystem, with surprisingly fast carbon accumulation rates 40 times higher than those of terrestrial forests. In recent decades, salt marshes have suffered great degradation and losses all over the world. The idea of enhancing the carbon stock in salt marshes (so-called blue carbon) by biochar (so-called black carbon) has been proposed recently. Although experiments and observations remain limited, significant enhancements in soil organic carbon and plant growth have been documented in most case studies. However, due to the limited number of observations and their relative short time window ranging from months to less than 1 year, a knowledge gap still exists regarding the process, mechanism, and effect of biochar in enhancing the carbon stock in salt marshes. Future research is urgently needed in the following perspectives, 1) exploring the relationship between the carbon stock enhancement efficiency and the biochar properties, 2) optimizing the physical and chemical properties of biochar to boost its efficiency, and 3) studying the in situ responses of the complex carbon pools to biochar addition, especially under tidal conditions and over a longer time period.