Land Use Practices
Valuing the Role of Mangroves in Storm Damage Reduction in Coastal Areas of OdishaBackgroundBuilding resilience has become a significant concern for coastal communities due to future sea level rise and more frequent tropical storms caused by climate change. Mangroves can provide coastal resilience by reducing lives lost and property damage from tropical storms. These benefits demonstrate how including these ecosystem services in sustainable land use planning could be an economically viable coastal resilience strategy. Open access copy available |
Strong Climate Mitigation Potential of Rewetting Oil Palm Plantations on Tropical PeatlandsBackgroundTropical peatlands store vast quantities of carbon and therefore play a crucial role in global climate regulation. In Indonesia, extensive areas of peatland have been drained and converted to oil palm plantations and other agricultural uses. Drainage exposes peat to oxygen, accelerating decomposition and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Since degraded peatlands are estimated to contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, restoration strategies such as peatland rewetting have gained increasing attention as potential natural climate solutions. Open access copy available |
Participatory scenarios and spatial modelling to explore mangrove ecosystem services futures in Lamu, KenyaBackgroundLamu County, Kenya contains Kenya’s most extensive mangrove forests, which provide many vital ecosystem services (ES) for local communities (e.g., nutrition, building material, coastal protection, climate regulation). Land use and land cover change (LULCC), such as coastal development or infrastructure projects, threaten mangroves and their ES. Participatory scenario planning can help communities develop models of future LULCC grounded in both scientific evidence and local experience. Using these models in Lamu could inform future policy to preserve Lamu’s mangroves and balance country-level economic needs with local ES. Open access copy available |
Forest carbon in Amazonia: the unrecognized contribution of indigenous territories and protected natural areasBackgroundAmazonia stores an estimated 80–120 Pg of aboveground carbon, and changes in this stock have global climate implications. Indigenous territories (ITs) and protected natural areas (PNAs) together cover roughly one-third to one-half of the Amazon region, yet their specific contribution to maintaining forest carbon has often been overlooked in regional mitigation discussions. Quantifying their role is important for designing REDD+, climate finance, and land rights policies that reflect on-the-ground conservation performance. Open access copy available |
Ecosystem Services of Mangroves: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Contemporary Scientific LiteratureBackgroundMangroves provide many ecosystem services, such as breeding grounds for aquatic organisms, sediment accumulation sites, coastal protection, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Beyond ecological functions, mangroves also sustain coastal livelihoods by providing natural resources and contributing to local economies. However, anthropogenic pressures from coastal development, agriculture, and aquaculture degrade mangrove ecosystems and the important ecosystem services they provide. Therefore, it is important to quantify and describe mangrove ecosystem services to better inform coastal policymakers and managers interested in mangrove conservation. Open access copy available |
The construction of biodiversity in conservation policy discourse: A multiscalar analysisBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Drivers of global mangrove loss and gain in social-ecological systemsBackgroundThe gain and loss of mangrove forests worldwide depends on both biophysical factors and socioeconomic factors. With global mangrove cover decreasing since the 1990s and biophysical pressures on mangrove forests (i.e., shoreline erosion, extreme weather events) increasing due to climate change, it is important to understand which forms of national conservation policies, programs, governance, and local economic activity most rapidly reverse the rate of loss of mangrove forests. Open access copy available |
The changing global carbon cycle: linking plant–soil carbon dynamics to global consequencesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Addressing critiques refines global estimates of reforestation potential for climate change mitigationBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Indigenous territories and governance of forest restoration in the Xingu River (Brazil)BackgroundOpen access copy available |
