Today I was reminded about a study that was published online in Nature Geoscience more than half a year ago. Now it was a Swedish magazine who picked it up and wrote about the "new" study. Notwithstanding, the results are so fundamentally important now during the current UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa, that I thought it was worthwhile reminding also the readers of this news blog.

The study in question was conducted by a research team from the U.S. Forest Service, University of Helsinki and the Center for International Forestry Research. Together they examined the carbon content of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo-Pacific region and found that per hectare, mangrove forests store up to four times more carbon than most other tropical forests around the world.

Mangrove forests are key ecosystems along ocean coastlines throughout the tropics that support numerous ecosystem services, including fisheries production and nutrient cycling. Many coastal communities in developing countries, especially the rural poor, rely upon this natural capital of mangrove forests for their subsistence and livelihoods. Over the past 50 years, however, they have declined by 30–50% as a result of coastal development, aquaculture expansion and over-harvesting. Nature news describe the implications of the study as follows:

"The findings indicate that much of the carbon in such forests is found in the surrounding soil, which is rich in organic material. Cutting down mangrove forests, which occupy less than 1% of tropical forest area, could therefore contribute up to 10% of global carbon emissions from deforestation.

The study could have a substantial impact on conservation efforts around the world...[and] help arguments to extend REDD+ to mangroves /.../ Mangrove forests are important for diversity, for coastal stability and for carbon, based on this paper. It gives another justification for preserving mangrove forests."