Blue carbon and ecosystem functioning in mangroves under pressure (4957)

Mangrove forests provide a wealth of ecosystem services to the marine and terrestrial environments and to people. These forests are biodiversity hotspots and mangrove trees play a key role in the protection against natural hazards. Mangroves also store large amounts of carbon and are amongst the world's most carbon-rich ecosystems. The carbon stored by mangroves is called Blue Carbon and may be crucial in counterbalancing anthropogenic CO2 emissions and mitigating climate change.

Human activities and climate change are posing serious threats and mangrove forests are in rapid decline worldwide. Despite the many benefits they provide, land-use change in coastal areas and sea level rise are leading to the degradation of mangroves with negative impacts on the ecosystem services they provide. Lack of understanding on the long-term evolution of mangrove ecosystems hinders the design and implementation of appropriate environmental management and as a result, essential ecosystem services are already being lost.