Mangrove Forests as Carbon Sinks: Sequestration, Loss, and Avoided Emissions
Context: Mangrove forests occupy intertidal margins in the tropics and subtropics, yet store exceptional quantities of blue carbon in woody biomass and waterlogged soils. Findings: Published syntheses indicate typical soil carbon burial of roughly 50–220 g C m-2 yr-1, with many stands accumulating several tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare annually. However, conversion to aquaculture, agriculture, settlements, and infrastructure can oxidise aboveground biomass and disturb carbon-rich sediments, releasing decades to centuries of accumulated carbon. Recent remote-sensing analyses show global mangrove loss has slowed compared with late-twentieth-century rates, but regional hotspots persist, particularly where coastal land values and pond aquaculture expand. Implications: The climate value of mangroves depends less on maximum sequestration rates than on avoided emissions, durable soil protection, and ecological restoration in suitable settings. Conservation therefore offers rapid mitigation co-benefits for biodiversity, fisheries, shoreline protection, and coastal livelihoods when tenure, hydrology, and local stewardship are addressed together.
Introduction
Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth. They grow where tides, river sediments, salinity, and tropical heat interact, forming forests that are physiologically specialised for waterlogged and saline conditions. Their climate significance comes from a dual function: living trees take up carbon through photosynthesis, while saturated, often anoxic sediments slow decomposition and retain organic matter for long periods [1].
This makes mangroves central to the broader field of blue carbon, which examines carbon stored in coastal vegetated ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses [3]. The policy relevance is straightforward. A…
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