Abstract
Mangroves have been identified as blue carbon ecosystems that are natural carbon sinks. In Bangladesh, the establishment of mangrove plantations for coastal protection has occurred since 1966, but the plantations also enhance carbon sequestration thereby contributing to climate change mitigation. Remote sensing and plot-based inventory of the mangrove plantations found the mean ecosystem carbon stock was 180.4 (±26.5) Mg C ha-1, with ecosystem carbon stocks and sequestration rates varying regionally. Biomass carbon was 74 (±7.5) Mg C ha-1 and soil was 106.4 (±19.1) Mg C ha-1 of which 36 Mg C ha-1 was attributed to mangrove growth. Therefore, since 1966 the 28,000 ha of established plantations have accumulated 0.33 MtCO2e yr-1 in biomass and 0.12 MtCO2e yr-1 in soils, totaling 0.46 MtCO2e yr-1. With current levels of plantation success, increased area of mangrove plantations would sequester an additional 4.7 MtCO2e by 2030, which is 8.8% of Bangladesh’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target for the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector described in its Nationally Determined Contribution commitment to the Paris Agreement. Improving the success of mangrove plantings could contribute up to 16.9 MtCO2e to climate change mitigation by 2030, as well as delivering significant additional ecosystem services.