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CARBON STORAGE

Where the tallest mangroves are

Nature Geoscience volume 12, pages 4–5 (2019)Cite this article

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Mangrove canopy heights vary around the world in response to rain, storms and human activities, suggests a global analysis of mangrove canopy height. How tall the trees are matters for estimating global mangrove carbon storage.

The deforestation of mangroves releases 25 Pg to 29 Tg of CO2 equivalent per year into the atmosphere2,5. As a result, conserving mangroves, along with other coastal vegetated blue carbon ecosystems such as saltmarshes and seagrasses, is becoming a priority in national and international policies that aim to mitigate climate change. To better manage these conservation efforts, we need accurate data on how much biomass and carbon is stored in mangroves, how it is distributed, and what the key attributes are that control biomass distribution. Canopy height, one of the key attributes that influence the amount of biomass stored in mangroves, so far remains highly uncertain.

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Fig. 1: Surveying a large Rhizophora spp. tree in Bintuni Bay, West Papua, Indonesia.

M. Sillanpää, National University of Singapore

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  1. Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Daniel A. Friess

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  1. Daniel A. Friess
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Correspondence to Daniel A. Friess.

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Friess, D.A. Where the tallest mangroves are. Nature Geosci 12, 4–5 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0280-8

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