A review of sediment carbon sampling methods in mangroves and their broader impacts on stock estimates for blue carbon ecosystems

Fest, Benedikt; Swearer, Stephen E.; Arndt, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151618

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…These communities, along with seagrasses and salt marshes, are among the most important blue-carbon ecosystemsi.e., marine ecosystems that sequester and immobilize carbon, thus removing it from the global cycle -acting as efficient carbon sinks and contributing to the alleviation of atmospheric CO2 increase (Nellemann et al, 2009;Mcleod et al, 2011;Fest et al 2022). Presently, mangrove forests are among the world's most threatened ecosystems (Worthington et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rull¹

2023

Preprint

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Mangrove forests, which are essential for the maintenance of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in tropical coasts and constitute the main blue-carbon ecosystems for the mitigation of global warming, are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Mangrove conservation can greatly benefit from paleoecological and evolutionary studies, as past analogs documenting the responses of these ecosystems to environmental drivers such as climate change, sea level shifts and anthropogenic pressure. A database (CARMA) encompassing nearly all studies on mangroves from the Caribbean region, one of the main mangrove hotspots, and their response to past environmental shifts has recently been assembled and analyzed. The dataset contains over 140 sites and ranges from the Late Cretaceous to the present. The Caribbean was the cradle of Neotropical mangroves, where they emerged in the Middle Eocene (~50 million years ago; Ma). A major evolutionary turnover occurred in the Eocene/Oligocene transition (34 Ma) that set the bases for the shaping of modern-like mangroves. However, the diversification of these communities leading to their extant composition did not occur until the Pliocene (~5 Ma). The Pleistocene (the last 2.6 Ma) glacial-interglacial cycles caused spatial and compositional reorganizations with no further evolution. Human pressure on Caribbean mangroves increased in the Middle Holocene (~6000 years ago), when pre-Columbian societies began to clear these forests for cultivation. In the last decades, deforestation has reduced the Caribbean mangrove cover by one third and it has been estimated that, if urgent and effective conservation actions are not undertaken, these 50 million-year-old ecosystems might disappear in little more than half a century. A number of specific conservation and restoration applications based on the results of paleoecological and evolutionary studies are suggested.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rull¹

2023

Preprint

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“…Mangroves not only provide ecological and cultural services (fisheries, cultivation, aquaculture, timber, fuel, aesthetics, ecotourism) but also contribute to the mitigation of global warming. These communities, along with seagrasses and salt marshes, are among the most important bluecarbon ecosystems -i.e., marine ecosystems that sequester and immobilize carbon, thus removing it from the global cycle -acting as efficient carbon sinks and contributing to the alleviation of atmospheric CO2 increase (Nellemann et al, 2009, Mcleod et al, 2011, Fest et al 2022). Presently, mangrove forests are among the world's most threatened ecosystems (Worthington et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rull¹

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tropical mangroves, one of the most important blue-carbon ecosystems, are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems and are in danger of disappearing within the next century, which may have a significant impact on coastal ecology and biodiversity, and also on the global capacity of climate change mitigation. The Caribbean region is one of the main mangrove hotspots on Earth. This paper is a thorough updated synthesis on the origin, evolutionary turnover, diversification and historical decline of the Caribbean mangroves, in relation to tectonic, climatic, eustatic and anthropogenic shifts. Neotropical mangroves originated in the Caribbean during the Middle Eocene, after the emergence of the first known mangrove-forming tree (Pelliciera). The abrupt cooling and sea-level fall of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) would have facilitated the replacement of the primeval mangroves by others dominated by Rhizophora. This was a major evolutionary disruption and gave rise to the modern Neotropical mangrove forests, still dominated by Rhizophora, with Pelliciera restricted to a relictual equatorial patch. The other extant mangrove-forming trees (Avicennia, Pelliciera) appeared in the Mio-Pliocene and the main diversification burst occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene, when 80% of extant genera emerged, with no extinctions documented. Pleistocene climatic and eustatic glacial cycles promoted recurrent spatial and compositional reorganizations. Natural drivers were the most influential until the Middle Holocene, when Amerindian cultures settled the whole Caribbean region and began to modify mangrove communities for agriculture and other activities using fire. During the last decades, deforestation has accelerated and the Caribbean mangrove cover has been reduced by >30%. A variety of conservation actions have been undertaken, but paleoecological and evolutionary knowledge remains to be fully incorporated into mangrove preservation. It is hoped that contributions like the present will help raising awareness on the importance of past records for conservation purposes.

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“…Mangroves not only provide ecosystem and cultural services (fisheries, cultivation, aquaculture, timber, fuel, aesthetics, ecotourism) but also contribute to the mitigation of global warming. These communities, along with seagrasses and salt marshes, are among the most important blue-carbon ecosystems -i.e., marine ecosystems that sequester and immobilize carbon, thus removing it from the global cycle -acting as efficient carbon sinks and contributing to the alleviation of atmospheric CO2 increase (Nellemann et al, 2009;Mcleod et al, 2011;Macreadie et al, 2021;Fest et al 2022). Globally, mangrove forests have been considered to be among the world's most threatened ecosystems (Worthington et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rull¹

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mangrove forests, which are essential for the maintenance of terrestrial and marine biodiversity on tropical coasts and constitute the main blue-carbon ecosystems for the mitigation of global warming, are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Mangrove conservation can greatly benefit from paleoecological and evolutionary studies, as past analogs documenting the responses of these ecosystems to environmental drivers such as climate change, sea level shifts and anthropogenic pressure. A database (CARMA) encompassing nearly all studies on mangroves from the Caribbean region, one of the main mangrove biodiversity hotspots, and their response to past environmental shifts has recently been assembled and analyzed. The dataset contains over 140 sites and ranges from the Late Cretaceous to the present. The Caribbean was the cradle of Neotropical mangroves, where they emerged in the Middle Eocene (~50 million years ago; Ma). A major evolutionary turnover occurred in the Eocene/Oligocene transition (34 Ma) that set the bases for the shaping of modern-like mangroves. However, the diversification of these communities leading to their extant composition did not occur until the Pliocene (~5 Ma). The Pleistocene (the last 2.6 Ma) glacial-interglacial cycles caused spatial and compositional reorganization with no further evolution. Human pressure on Caribbean mangroves increased in the Middle Holocene (~6000 years ago), when pre-Columbian societies began to clear these forests for cultivation. In recent decades, deforestation has significantly reduced Caribbean mangrove cover and it has been estimated that, if urgent and effective conservation actions are not undertaken, these 50 million-year-old ecosystems might disappear in a few centuries. A number of specific conservation and restoration applications based on the results of paleoecological and evolutionary studies are suggested.

show abstract

A review of sediment carbon sampling methods in mangroves and their broader impacts on stock estimates for blue carbon ecosystems

Cited by 18 publications

References 50 publications

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

Rise and Fall of Caribbean Mangroves

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