The potential of mature Sonneratia apetala plantations to enhance carbon stocks in the Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve

Ecological Indicators

Minerva Singh¹  Yasong Zhang¹  Ling Xiao²  Dongsheng Guan³  Gang Wang⁴ 

[1] Corresponding authors at: 161 Yinglong Road, Guangzhou 510520, PR China (G. Wang), No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China (Y. Zhang).;Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou 510275, China;School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China;

关键词: Sonneratia apetala;    Mangrove plantation;    Biomass;    Sediment organic carbon;    Carbon stock;    South China;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Non-native Sonneratia apetala plantations have been widely recommended as part of China’s mangrove reforestation and afforestation plans, partly due to their rapid carbon accumulation in biomass and sediments. Nonetheless, reviews of the available data estimating carbon dynamics in the S. apetala plantations reveal a lack of monitoring data concerning carbon dynamics for the mature planted mangroves. This study sought to quantify how biomass and SOC stocks of the mature S. apetala plantations varied with mangrove growth between 2012 (aged 19 years old) and 2019 (aged 26 years old) using a continuous monitoring method. The results show that total biomass, as well as tree height and stem diameter at breast height (DBH), increased significantly between 2012 and 2019, while tree densities of both mangrove canopy and understory layers decreased. However, there was no significant difference in SOC content/stocks between 2012 and 2019. This result about SOC change may be partly attributable to the relatively shorter monitoring time span and the slower accumulation rate of SOC in comparison with biomass. In addition, fine root biomass was positively correlated with SOC content and regulated the vertical distribution of SOC content. Regression analysis for China’s S. apetala plantations found that biomass, tree height and DBH, and SOC stocks all increased with forest age. Moreover, SOC stocks were significantly positively correlated with biomass. This suggests that mangrove afforestation and reforestation can offer carbon-sink potential, but this should be confirmed by longer-term monitoring to further evaluate the SOC accumulation of S. apetala plantations over time.

【 授权许可】

Unknown