145 / 2023-08-20 00:46:58

The Blue Carbon Function of Mangrove Forests in the Face of Future Sea Level Rise

mangroves, sea-level rise, blue carbon, sedimentation, simulation experiment

Mangrove forests, are a crucial part of the Earth's ecosystem providing ecological services such as coastal blue carbon sinks. Sea level rise (SLR), leading to prolonged tidal inundation or increased inundation frequency, is one of the most prominent environmental stresses currently challenging mangrove forests. Here, we explore the blue carbon function of mangrove forests in the context of future SLR and discuss the implications in global climate change studies. In general, the effects of SLR on the blue carbon function of mangrove forests are manifested through its influence on plant growth, sedimentation, and decomposition. In regional scales, SLR will force newer mangroves to continuously migrate landward, resulting in a landward expansion. In those with low-moderate SLR and high sediment inputs, carbon sequestration may increase as an outcome of increased mangrove area, and improved organic carbon accumulation. However, in the presence barriers such as seawalls, SLR will exert coastal squeeze on mangroves, poses a considerable threat to mangroves due to excessively long tidal inundation times. However, given the complexity of the interactions of mangrove forests and SLR, future research on mangrove forests response to SLR needs to be combined the three aspects: 1) continuing field observations at the site scale, 2) carrying out meso-scale or in situ simulation experiments, and 3) applying large-scale observation data and global change models. Research-integrated fundamental knowledge will broaden the community of practice of blue carbon science, and contribute to the management and new economic pathways.