Belowground Carbon Stores in Mangrove Forests

Covering approximately 138,000 km2, mangroves are one of the largest carbon reserves in the world with carbon density values 3 to 4 times that of terrestrial forests. Studies to date have focused on quantifying the top 1m of belowground carbon, however the effects of depth beyond 1m, mangrove species, forest degradation (rather than forest clearance), location and environmental context on carbon stores were much less understood until now. The results from this project reinforce the general assumption that mangroves have large carbon reserves and suggest that these reserves are commonly underestimated, particularly because depths of greater than 1 m are ignored. The model produced here will be relevant for REDD+ decisions in terms of which areas to protect and which to enhance.