Fucoidan carbon is stored in coastal vegetated ecosystems

Hellige, Inga; Akeerath Mundanatt, Aman; Massing, Jana C.; Hehemann, Jan-Hendrik

doi:10.5194/bg-23-387-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-387-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-387-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 1

Research article

|

14 Jan 2026

Research article |

| 14 Jan 2026

Fucoidan carbon is stored in coastal vegetated ecosystems

Inga Hellige, Aman Akeerath Mundanatt, Jana C. Massing, and Jan-Hendrik Hehemann

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-387-2026-supplement

Data sets

Monosaccharides quantified in porewater samples from coastal vegetated ecosystems [dataset]. Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.975016

Polysaccharide fucoidan BAM1 antibody binding in porewater samples from coastal vegetated ecosystems [dataset]. Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.977549

Total carbohydrates quantified in sediment cores from coastal vegetated ecosystems Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.979910

Polysaccharides quantified in sediment cores from coastal vegetated ecosystems [dataset]. Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.979911

Monosaccharides quantified in sediment cores from coastal vegetated ecosystems [dataset]. Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.979909

Polysaccharide fucoidan BAM1 and arabinogalactan-protein glycan JIM13 antibody binding in sediment cores from coastal vegetated ecosystems [dataset]. Inga Hellige et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.979912

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Short summary

Coastal plant habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows and saltmarshes store carbon. While these plants absorb carbon dioxide and trap carbon in sediments via their roots, we also discovered that carbon from algae is transported into these systems and preserved in the soil. By analyzing sugars from plants and algae, we show that restoring these ecosystems helps lock away both local and distant carbon, offering powerful benefits for climate and biodiversity.