Tropical wetland ecosystems, especially mangroves and peatlands, are carbon (C) rich ecosystems. Globally, tropical mangroves store about 20 PgC, however, deforestation has contributed 10 % of the total global emissions from tropical deforestation, even though mangroves account for only about 0.7 % of the world's tropical forest area (Donato et al. 2011). Meanwhile, tropical peatlands store 191 PgC or approximately 33 % of global peatland C (Post et al. 1982; Page and Rieley 1999). This disproportionate capacity of tropical wetlands to sequester and store C make them a critical component in understanding local, regional and global C stocks that influence the balance of greenhouse gases to and from the atmosphere.

Authors: Kolka, R.; Murdiyarso, D.; Kauffman, J.B.; Birdsey, R.A.

Subjects: land use, climate change, wetlands, adaptation, mitigation

Publication type: ISI, Journal Article, Publication

Year: 2016

ISSN: 0923-4861

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9487-x