Spatially Explicit Coastal Blue Carbon Sequestration by Posidonia oceanica in Italy under Future Anthropogenic Scenarios (2025–2050)

This dataset provides spatially explicit estimates of cumulative carbon sequestration (tCO2e) by Posidonia oceanica meadows along the Italian coasts under three future anthropogenic pressure scenarios: Business-as-Usual (BAU), Sustainable Scenario (SS), and Non-Sustainable Scenario (NSS), over the period 2025–2050. The dataset consists of three GeoTIFF raster files at 100 × 100 m spatial resolution (1 ha per pixel), covering all Italian coastal waters. Each pixel reports the cumulative net carbon sequestration expressed in tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) over the study period. Values are defined as follows: positive values indicate net carbon sequestration, negative values indicate net emissions, 0 represents marine areas without Posidonia oceanica, and -1 indicates no-data values in coastal cells. The maps were generated using the InVEST Coastal Blue Carbon model, integrating spatial data on seagrass distribution and cumulative anthropogenic pressures, following a scenario-based approach. This dataset was produced within the PRIN project “Assessing the overall carbon sequestration in the Italian Posidonia oceanica meadows” and supports national-scale assessments of blue carbon, ecosystem services, and climate mitigation strategies. This work was supported by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.1, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, under Call for tender No. 104 (02/02/2022) of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), Project “Assessing the overall carbon sequestration in the Italian Posidonia oceanica meadows” (CUP J53D23006470001), Grant Assignment Decree No. 1015 (07/07/2023).