Blue Nitrogen: Global Rates and Economic Importance

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Ecosystem service researchers will find the global removal rates and economic valuation methodology valuable for future nature-based solution assessments.

🏢実務担当者:Corporate sustainability teams exploring nature-based credits beyond carbon can use this to evaluate nitrogen offset potential.

🏛政策担当者:Policymakers can consider integrating nitrogen credits into coastal management and water quality regulations.

Abstract Nitrogen (N) pollution drives widespread coastal ecosystem collapse. In this paper, we argue that mangrove forests represent an undervalued natural mitigation solution for N pollution. By performing a comprehensive global meta‐analysis, we reveal that mangroves remove 870 Gg N annually, which represents an economic value reaching $8.7 billion via N credit‐based valuation. This value is more than 12 times higher than the annual carbon credits value derived from mangrove carbon sequestration. Despite the substantial economic importance of mangroves' N‐removal capacity, it remains largely overlooked in current conservation frameworks. Moreover, we argue that N removal by mangroves has the potential of removing over 5 million tonnes of N each year under optimal conditions. We also highlight critical environmental thresholds demonstrating that this service is vulnerable: extreme eutrophication, rising mean annual temperature above 22°C, and hypersalinity all suppress mangrove N removal capacity. Our findings provide the scientific foundation to integrate “Blue Nitrogen” credits in a larger N‐credit framework, offering a transformative financing mechanism for coastal water quality management that could reshape both mangrove conservation and N pollution mitigation strategies, worldwide.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ef007772first seen 2026-05-23 05:00:15 · last seen 2026-05-29 05:20:40