Mangroves

Mangroves optimized: How to make coastal habitats sequester even more carbon

Of all the carbon buried in the floors of Earth's oceans, most of it is found in the narrow strip of tidal marshes, seagrass beds, and mangroves along their edge. Known as blue carbon ecosystems, these vegetated coastal habitats "occupy only 0.2% of the ocean surface, yet contribute 50% of the total amount of carbon buried in marine sediments," write researchers, led by Deakin University ecologist Peter Macreadie, in the journal Frontiers in Ecology in the Environment. Meter for meter, they're some of the most effective carbon storage systems we have. But could people make them even more effective?