Resilience
Storm Surge Reduction by MangrovesBackgroundFlooding and wave energy from storm surges can damage infrastructure and harm inhabitants of coastal communities. Climate change and sea level rise have the potential to increase or intensify storm surges, which necessitate investment in coastal defenses and disaster risk reduction. Mangroves can reduce the effects of storm surges through attenuating waves and wind, making mangroves an important form of nature-based protection for coastal communities. Open access copy available |
Reduction of Wind and Swell Waves by MangrovesBackgroundCoastal ecosystems can mitigate the damage from extreme weather events like tropical storms and hurricanes. With human populations increasing in coastal areas, policymakers and stakeholders are interested in coastal ecosystems, like mangrove forests, as a nature-based form of coastal defense and resilience. This report aims to examine the potential for mangroves to reduce wind and swell waves in order to inform decision makers about the potential for mangroves to decrease the risks faced by coastal communities. 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 |
Mangrove Forests: Protection Against and Resilience to Coastal DisturbancesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Decreasing landscape carbon storage in western US forests with 2 °C of warmingBackgroundThis study investigates how a 2°C increase in global mean temperature above pre-industrial levels could alter above-ground carbon storage in forests across the western United States, a region already experiencing climate-driven tree mortality, reduced regeneration, and more frequent fire and insect outbreaks. Forest carbon density is treated as a “carbon carrying capacity” controlled by climate and disturbance regimes, and there is concern that warming and drying will shift many areas towards lower carbon forest or non-forest states, with implications for climate mitigation and carbon offset projects. Open access copy available |
Factors influencing organic carbon accumulation in mangrove ecosystemsBackgroundMangrove forest sediments can store a significant amount of organic carbon (900 Mg ha-1). Environmental and anthropogenic impacts, like storms or deforestation, can increase or decrease carbon accumulation rates within mangrove sediments and ecosystems. Therefore, it is important to understand how these impacts affect blue carbon ecosystems’ storage capacity. Open access copy available |
Resilience to Hurricanes is High in Mangrove Blue Carbon ForestsBackgroundWhile many anthropogenic forces threaten the survival of mangrove forests, tropical storms are the most significant non-anthropogenic sources of disturbance. Since mangroves are important carbon sinks, it is important to understand the impacts of tropical storms on mangrove forest structure, function, and carbon stock recovery. Open access copy available |
Bridging conservation and policy: evaluating national targets to reduce mangrove loss under the Kunming–Montreal biodiversity frameworkBackgroundThis research examines the alignment between the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets and national efforts to halt mangrove loss. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, GBF’s Targets 1 and 3 aim to reduce habitat loss and expand protected areas to conserve 30% of critical ecosystems by 2030. Mangroves, vital for biodiversity, carbon storage, and coastal protection, continue to experience degradation due to both human and natural drivers. Despite partial success in global mangrove protection, national policies often fail to address underlying drivers of degradation or incorporate specific, measurable conservation actions. Open access copy available |
Warming induces unexpectedly high soil respiration in a wet tropical forestBackgroundTropical forests play a key role in regulating the global carbon cycle, exchanging more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. However, limited in situ experiments constrain understanding of their response to climate warming. Understanding these responses is crucial, as even small changes in soil respiration in tropical regions can substantially influence global carbon dynamics and climate feedbacks. Open access copy available |
Land availability and policy commitments limit global climate mitigation from forestationBackgroundOpen access copy available |
