Global climate change (GCC) has led to increased focus on the occurrence of, and preparation for, climate-related extremes and hazards. Population exposure, the relative likelihood that a person in a given location was exposed to a given hazard event(s) in a given period of time, was the outcome for this analysis. Our objectives were to develop a method for estimating the population exposure at the country level to the climate-related hazards cyclone, drought, and flood; develop a method that readily allows the addition of better datasets to an automated model; differentiate population exposure of urban and rural populations; and calculate and present the results of exposure scores and ranking of countries based on the country-wide, urban, and rural population exposures to cyclone, drought, and flood. Gridded global datasets on cyclone, drought and flood occurrence as well as population density were combined and analysis was carried out using ArcGIS. Results presented include global maps of ranked country-level population exposure to cyclone, drought, flood and multiple hazards. Analyses by geography and human development index (HDI) are also included. The results and analyses of this exposure assessment have implications for country-level adaptation. It can also be used to help prioritize aid decisions and allocation of adaptation resources between countries and within a country. This model is designed to allow flexibility in applying cyclone, drought and flood exposure to a range of outcomes and adaptation measures.

Mangroves can capture and store organic carbon and their protection and therefore their restoration is a component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangrove forests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g cm−3 (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g cm−3 (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks.

Because mangroves can capture and store organic carbon, their protection and restoration is an obvious component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangrove forests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g∙cm-3 (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks.

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