Co-benefits of protecting mangroves for biodiversity conservation and carbon storage

Md Mizanur Rahman, Martin Zimmer, Imran Ahmed, Daniel Donato, Mamoru Kanzaki and Ming Xu ()
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Md Mizanur Rahman: Henan University
Martin Zimmer: Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research & University of Bremen
Imran Ahmed: Bangladesh Forest Department, Bon Bhaban
Daniel Donato: University of Washington
Mamoru Kanzaki: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake, Sakyo-ku
Ming Xu: Henan University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity has numerous co-benefits, both for local societies and for humankind worldwide. While the co-benefit of climate change mitigation through so called blue carbon storage in coastal ecosystems has raised increasing interest in mangroves, the relevance of multifaceted biodiversity as a driver of carbon storage remains unclear. Sediment salinity, taxonomic diversity, functional diversity and functional distinctiveness together explain 69%, 69%, 27% and 61% of the variation in above- and belowground plant biomass carbon, sediment organic carbon and total ecosystem carbon storage, respectively, in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest. Functional distinctiveness had the strongest explanatory power for carbon storage, indicating that blue carbon in mangroves is driven by the functional composition of diverse tree assemblages. Protecting and restoring mangrove biodiversity with site-specific dominant species and other species of contrasting functional traits would have the co-benefit of maximizing their capacity for climate change mitigation through increased carbon storage.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24207-4

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