Allometry, biomass, and productivity of mangrove forests: A review
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review 72 published articles to elucidate characteristics of biomass allocation and productivity of mangrove forests and also introduce recent progress on the study of MANGEO to solve the site and species-specific problems.
About: This article is published in Aquatic Botany.The article was published on 2008-08-01. It has received 688 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Mangrove & Biomass (ecology).
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantified whole-ecosystem carbon storage by measuring tree and dead wood biomass, soil carbon content, and soil depth in 25 mangrove forests across a broad area of the Indo-Pacific region.
Abstract: Mangrove forests occur along ocean coastlines throughout the tropics, and support numerous ecosystem services, including fisheries production and nutrient cycling. However, the areal extent of mangrove forests has declined by 30-50% over the past half century as a result of coastal development, aquaculture expansion and over-harvesting1, 2, 3, 4. Carbon emissions resulting from mangrove loss are uncertain, owing in part to a lack of broad-scale data on the amount of carbon stored in these ecosystems, particularly below ground5. Here, we quantified whole-ecosystem carbon storage by measuring tree and dead wood biomass, soil carbon content, and soil depth in 25 mangrove forests across a broad area of the Indo-Pacific region—spanning 30° of latitude and 73° of longitude—where mangrove area and diversity are greatest4, 6. These data indicate that mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, containing on average 1,023 Mg carbon per hectare.
2,029 citations
Duke University1, University of Wisconsin-Madison2, United States Environmental Protection Agency3, Indiana University4, Florida International University5, Oregon State University6, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center7, Conservation International8, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources9, Ocean Conservancy10
TL;DR: It is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the well-recognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats.
Abstract: Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems—marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—that may be lost with habitat destruction (‘conversion’). Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this ‘blue carbon’ can be released to the atmosphere when these ecosystems are converted or degraded. Here we provide the first global estimates of this impact and evaluate its economic implications. Combining the best available data on global area, land-use conversion rates, and near-surface carbon stocks in each of the three ecosystems, using an uncertainty-propagation approach, we estimate that 0.15–1.02 Pg (billion tons) of carbon dioxide are being released annually, several times higher than previous estimates that account only for lost sequestration. These emissions are equivalent to 3–19% of those from deforestation globally, and result in economic damages of $US 6–42 billion annually. The largest sources of uncertainty in these estimates stems from limited certitude in global area and rates of landuse conversion, but research is also needed on the fates of ecosystem carbon upon conversion. Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but this analysis suggests they may be disproportionally important to both. Although the relevant science supporting these initial estimates will need to be refined in coming years, it is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the wellrecognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats.
1,088 citations
Cites background from "Allometry, biomass, and productivit..."
...The carbon in emergent living biomass of these ecosystems ranges widely, from estimated mean values of 1 to 129 Mg C ha (2 to 474 Mg of potential CO2 emission ha ) depending on habitat type [16,24,28,43,45,52–54]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the state of knowledge of mangrove vulnerability and responses to predicted climate change and consider adaptation options, based on available evidence, of all the climate change outcomes, relative sea level rise may be the greatest threat to mangroves.
952 citations
Cites background from "Allometry, biomass, and productivit..."
...A direct effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 levels may be increased productivity of some mangrove species (Field, 1995; Ball et al., 1997; Komiyama et al., 2008)....
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University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science1, University of Wyoming2, University of Florida3, University of New Orleans4, Universidad Nacional del Sur5, Oregon State University6, Portland State University7, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center8, Wildlife Conservation Society9, University of Minnesota10, University of California, Santa Barbara11, James Cook University12
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the variability observed in wave attenuation provided by marshes, mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and therefore also in coastal protection.
Abstract: Natural processes tend to vary over time and space, as well as between species. The ecosystem services these natural processes provide are therefore also highly variable. It is often assumed that ecosystem services are provided linearly (unvaryingly, at a steady rate), but natural processes are characterized by thresholds and limiting functions. In this paper, we describe the variability observed in wave attenuation provided by marshes, mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and therefore also in coastal protection. We calculate the economic consequences of assuming coastal protection to be linear. We suggest that, in order to refine ecosystem-based management practices, it is essential that natural variability and cumulative effects be considered in the valuation of ecosystem services.
711 citations
Cites background from "Allometry, biomass, and productivit..."
...In very dense mangrove forests, full attenuation of wind-induced waves may occur within 30 m of the edge, while in low-density mangroves, such as those usually found at the edge of mangrove forests (Komiyama et al. 2008), much wider vegetated areas are required to obtain the same results (Massel et al....
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...For instance, mangrove aboveground biomass decreases from low to mid latitudes (between 0˚ and 40˚; Twilley et al. 1992; Komiyama et al. 2008), such that the highest wave attenuation is provided near the equator....
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...For instance, mangrove aboveground biomass decreases from low to mid latitudes (between 0 ̊ and 40 ̊; Twilley et al. 1992; Komiyama et al. 2008), such that the highest wave attenuation is provided near the equator....
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...…mangrove forests, full attenuation of wind-induced waves may occur within 30 m of the edge, while in low-density mangroves, such as those usually found at the edge of mangrove forests (Komiyama et al. 2008), much wider vegetated areas are required to obtain the same results (Massel et al. 1999)....
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TL;DR: There is growing research interest in the ethnobiology, socio-economics and management of mangrove forests as discussed by the authors, with harvesting efforts and impacts concentrated in stands that are closer to settlements and easiest to access (by land or by sea).
687 citations
References
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TL;DR: A critical reassessment of the quality and the robustness of these models across tropical forest types, using a large dataset of 2,410 trees ≥ 5 cm diameter, directly harvested in 27 study sites across the tropics, is provided.
Abstract: Tropical forests hold large stores of carbon, yet uncertainty remains regarding their quantitative contri- bution to the global carbon cycle. One approach to quantifying carbon biomass stores consists in inferring changes from long-term forest inventory plots. Regres- sion models are used to convert inventory data into an estimate of aboveground biomass (AGB). We provide a critical reassessment of the quality and the robustness of these models across tropical forest types, using a large dataset of 2,410 trees ‡ 5 cm diameter, directly harvested in 27 study sites across the tropics. Proportional rela- tionships between aboveground biomass and the prod- uct of wood density, trunk cross-sectional area, and total height are constructed. We also develop a regres- sion model involving wood density and stem diameter only. Our models were tested for secondary and old- growth forests, for dry, moist and wet forests, for low- land and montane forests, and for mangrove forests. The most important predictors of AGB of a tree were, in decreasing order of importance, its trunk diameter, wood specific gravity, total height, and forest type (dry, moist, or wet). Overestimates prevailed, giving a bias of 0.5-6.5% when errors were averaged across all stands. Our regression models can be used reliably to predict aboveground tree biomass across a broad range of tropical forests. Because they are based on an unprece- dented dataset, these models should improve the quality
2,786 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain how physiological processes (such as photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, carbohydrate, nitrogen and mineral relations) are involved in the growth of woody plants and how they are affected by the environment.
Abstract: Plant physiology is the scientific study of how plants grow and respond to environmental factors and cultural treatments in terms of their physiological processes and conditions. This book aims to explain how physiological processes (such as photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, carbohydrate, nitrogen and mineral relations) are involved in the growth of woody plants and how they are affected by the environment, in addition to explaining the mechanisms of the processes themselves.
2,520 citations
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01 Jan 1986TL;DR: The aim of this work is to contribute to the human awareness of the natural world and to contribute towards the humanizing of nature.
Abstract: Preface Acknowledgements Part I. General Account: 1. Ecology 2. Floristics 3. Biogeography 4. Shoot systems 5. Root systems 6. Water relations and salt balance 7. Flowering 8. Seedlings and seeds 9. Utilization and exploitation Part II. Detailed Descriptions by Family References Index.
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