Thanks Carbon and LG CHEM said on the 26th that they released the third-year monitoring results of the sea forest "blue carbon" seagrass habitat restoration and research project, the first marine ecosystem restoration project for seagrass habitats by domestic private corporations.
Thanks Carbon and LG CHEM transplanted 50,000 seagrass shoots near Daegyeongdo off Yeosu, South Jeolla, in Oct. 2023 as the first marine ecosystem restoration project for seagrass habitats by domestic private corporations, and added 20,000 shoots in Nov. 2024.
This third-year 2025 monitoring found that the transplanted seagrass site functions as a habitat for a variety of species, including 16 kinds of benthic animals, fish, and juveniles such as blue crabs, swimming crabs, and conger eels, confirming that the project is not merely about planting marine vegetation but is a marine ecosystem restoration effort. The seagrass habitat also showed stable rooting and growth after the first-year transplant, as well as continued expansion and maintenance of the meadow, and considering the seagrass sediment layer, annual carbon uptake of at least 1,000–1,700 tons is expected.
"Seagrass" is a flowering marine plant and, along with mangrove forests and salt marshes, is one of the three major "blue carbon" marine carbon sinks officially certified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "Blue carbon" is carbon absorbed by marine ecosystems such as seas and wetlands, and because its carbon absorption rate is 50 times faster and its carbon storage capacity is more than five times greater than the terrestrial carbon sink "green carbon," it is drawing greater attention in Korea, which is surrounded by the sea on three sides.
Lee Young-jun, Head of Team, Global CSR Team at LG CHEM, said, "Following the first and second years, this third-year monitoring also confirmed that seagrass habitats contribute to marine ecosystem restoration, the value of blue carbon, and responses to climate change," and emphasized, "Compared with the terrestrial carbon sink green carbon, 'seagrass,' one form of blue carbon under the sea, absorbs carbon more than 50 times faster and has more than five times the storage capacity, so the value of blue carbon is drawing international attention, and these monitoring results carry great significance as a domestic case of restoring seaforest blue carbon seagrass habitats."