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PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE

Biological carbon sequestration in constructed wetlands: A nature-based strategy for climate mitigation and wastewater treatment

Basundhara Lenka1* ,  Dipta Gosh1
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1 Department of Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
EER, 025480082 https://doi.org/10.36922/EER025480082
Received: 29 November 2025 | Revised: 2 January 2026 | Accepted: 5 January 2026 | Published online: 26 January 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Constructed wetlands are engineered ecosystems composed of substrates, vegetation, and microorganisms that serve as a sustainable alternative for wastewater treatment. Despite their benefits, greenhouse gas emissions continue to pose a challenge. Consequently, increasing research efforts focus on developing cleaner strategies to reduce overall global warming potential while enhancing carbon sequestration. This perspective outlines the current status of carbon sequestration and wastewater treatment, highlighting the close coupling between pollutant removal and carbon cycling. It also describes existing limitations and explores future prospects.

Keywords
Carbon sequestration
Constructed wetlands
Greenhouse gas emissions
Pollutants
Wastewater treatment
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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