Mangrove loss may not mean release of all carbon stock: Study

The study, which was led by researchers in Singapore, found that while global mangrove area had shrunk over the 20-year study period from 1996, about a quarter of the losses had been offset by the regrowth of mangroves due to human or natural reforestation.

Moreover, the researchers also found that even when mangroves are cleared for agriculture or aquaculture, the land on which they once stood may not immediately relinquish its hold of the stored carbon.

"Above-ground biomass removal accounts for only 20 per cent of the total ecosystem carbon stock as most carbon stock from mangroves is stored in the soil," said Dr Murdiyarso, a principal scientist at the Centre for International Forestry Research based in Bogor, Indonesia.