Coastal landforms and accumulation of mangrove peat increase carbon sequestration and storage

Abstract

Given their relatively small area, mangroves and their organic sediments are of disproportionate importance to global carbon sequestration and carbon storage. Peat deposition and preservation allows some mangroves to accrete vertically and keep pace with sea-level rise by growing on their own root remains. In this study we show that mangroves in desert inlets in the coasts of the Baja California have been accumulating root peat for nearly 2,000 y and harbor a belowground carbon content of 900-34,00 Mg C/ha, with an average value of 1,130 (± 128) Mg C/ha, and a belowground carbon accumulation similar to that found under some of the tallest tropical mangroves in the Mexican Pacific coast. The depth-age curve for the mangrove sediments of Baja California indicates that sea level in the peninsula has been rising at a mean rate of 0.70 mm/y (± 0.07) during the last 17 centuries, a value similar to the rates of sea-level rise estimated for the Caribbean during a comparable period. By accreting on their own accumulated peat, these desert mangroves store large amounts of carbon in their sediments. We estimate that mangroves and halophyte scrubs in Mexico's arid northwest, with less than 1% of the terrestrial area, store in their belowground sediments around 28% of the total belowground carbon pool of the whole region.blue carbon | carbon sequestration | mangroves | peat | Baja California M any studies have highlighted the importance of mangroves and other coastal ecosystems in belowground carbon storage. Duarte and Cebrián (1) showed that mangroves allocate ca.

Limits on carbon sequestration in arid blue carbon ecosystems

“…Planted mangroves, salt marshes, and coastal sabkha were comparable in their stocks (Table 4, Fig. 2; F 3 [Donato et al 2011, Mexico, Caribbean [Adame et al 2013], Mexico, Pacific [Ezcurra et al 2016], Dominican Republic [Kauffman et al 2014]; Appendix S2: Table S3) Values are mean ± SE, n.d. = no data. Seagrasses had the lowest total carbon stocks, but stocks did not differ with other ecosystems except for mature mangroves (Table 4, Fig.…”

The undervalued contribution of mangrove protection in Mexico to carbon emission targets

“…We combined a unique data set of mangrove ecosystem carbon stocks of Mexico (Adame et al., , , b; Ezcurra, Ezcurra, Garcillán, Costa, & Aburto‐Oropeza, ; Kauffman, Hernandez Trejo, del Carmen Jesus Garcia, Heider, & Contreras, ; and unpublished data from authors MFA, MB, JHS) with national‐scale mapping of mangrove distribution, deforestation, and degradation (Valderrama‐Landeros et al., ). First, we compared carbon stocks among climatic and geomorphologic settings.…”

Essential ocean variables for global sustained observations of biodiversity and ecosystem changes

“…Implementing capacity development and technology transfer to improve data series will be crucial, as most coral reefs (and certainly those supporting lowincome communities) are in developing countries.Marine vegetation ecosystems, including macroalgal assemblages, seagrass beds and mangrove forests harbour diversified assemblages of many species and contribute important functions and services to coastal ecosystems. These include high primary production, provision of nursery areas for commercially important species, protection from coastal erosion and carbon storage(Aburto-Oropeza et al, 2008;Donato et al, 2011;Ezcurra, Ezcurra, Garcill an, Costa, & Aburto- Oropeza, 2016;Hutchison et al, 2015;Krumhansl et al, 2016;Marb a, D ıaz-Almela, & Duarte, 2014;Nagelkerken et al, 2008;Schiel & Foster, 2015). These ecosystems are vulnerable to global threats such as ocean warming, and to regional stressors resulting from intensifying human activities along the coast(Bostr€ om et al, 2014;Marba & Duarte, 2010;Marb a et al, 2014;Moore & Jarvis, 2008;Reusch, Ehlers, H€ ammerli, & Worm, 2005;Waycott et al, 2009).…”