{
  "abstract": "The prevailing narrative of seaweed carbon as a possible climate change mitigation solution overlooks the central challenge that climate change itself is adversely impacting seaweed forests worldwide, potentially shifting these ecosystems from carbon sinks to carbon sources. In this Essay, we show that climate-induced seaweed forest loss is eroding their carbon sink capacity three to four orders of magnitude (1,000–10,000×) faster than it can currently be restored or recovered through active interventions. We consider that this stark disparity calls for a fundamental shift in seaweed carbon research away from a focus on future sequestration gains and toward explicitly assessing the risk of carbon emissions from climate-driven ecosystem loss.\n\nSeaweed forests are widely viewed as natural climate solutions, yet warming oceans are driving their rapid decline. This Essay reveals that losses are outpacing restoration efforts by orders of magnitude, raising urgent concerns about their role as emerging sources of emissions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "UWA Oceans Institute & School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia",
    "Benthic Communities Group, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway",
    "Oceans Group, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America",
    "Oceans Group, International Blue Carbon Institute, Singapore, Singapore"
  ],
  "article_type": "Essay",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Karen Filbee-Dexter"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Albert Pessarrodona"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kira A. Krumhansl"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Thomas Wernberg"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s8dc9rfzmz4d.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949",
  "id": "9s8dc9rfzmz4d",
  "issns": [
    "1545-7885"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1910|Marine and coastal plant biology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems/Forests"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Plants/Seaweed"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Atmospheric science/Climatology/Climate change"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Atmospheric science/Climatology/Climate change/Anthropogenic climate change"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Geochemistry/Carbon sink"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems/Forests"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Terrestrial environments/Forests"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Environmental engineering/Carbon sequestration"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical compounds/Carbon dioxide"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Geochemistry/Carbon sink"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7211973535",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-08",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s8dc9rfzmz4d.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003949"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:ecology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "plos:climate change",
      "subfield": "climate"
    },
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "plos:geochemistry",
      "subfield": "geology-geochemistry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Seaweed carbon removal cannot keep up with climate-driven loss",
  "title_text": "Seaweed carbon removal cannot keep up with climate-driven loss",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9s8dc9rfzmz4d",
  "venue": "PLOS Biology",
  "versions": []
}