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Source and stability of soil carbon in mangrove and freshwater wetlands of the Mexican Pacific coast

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Abstract

Wetlands can store large quantities of carbon (C) and are considered key sites for C sequestration. However, the C sequestration potential of wetlands is spatially and temporally variable, and depends on processes associated with C production, preservation and export. In this study, we assess the soil C sources and processes responsible for C sequestration of riverine wetlands (mangroves, peat swamp forest and marsh) of La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve (LEBR, Mexican south Pacific coast). We analysed soil C and nitrogen (N) concentrations and isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) from cores dated from the last century. We compared a range of mangrove forests in different geomorphological settings (upriver and downriver) and across a gradient from fringe to interior forests. Sources and processes related to C storage differ greatly among riverine wetlands of the Reserve. In the peat swamp forest and marsh, the soil C experienced large changes in the past century, probably due to soil decomposition, changes in plant community composition, and/or changes in C sources. In the mangroves, the dominant process for C accumulation was the burial of in situ production. The C buried in mangroves has changed little in the past 100 years, suggesting that production has been fairly constant and/or that decomposition rates in the soil are slow. Mangrove forests of LEBR, regardless of geomorphological setting, can preserve very uniform soil N and C for a century or more, consistent with efficient C storage.

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and to the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN), A.C.) and the USDA Forest Service. Funding for the study was provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID /Mexico) as part of a workshop on quantification of wetland carbon stocks. We wish to thank the participants of this workshop for their contributions of data collection in the field. We are grateful for field support to the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), especially to Leonardo Castro, and to Dr. Vanessa Valdez, Juan Manuel Frausto Leyva and Richard Birdsey for logistic support.

Funding sources

This study was funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID /Mexico) as part of a workshop on quantification of wetland carbon stocks. The funding was administered by the USDA Forest Service and the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN), A.C.). Logistical support was provided by the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and the National Mexican Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).

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  1. Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia

    M. F. Adame & B. Fry

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  1. M. F. Adame
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  2. B. Fry
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Correspondence to M. F. Adame.

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Adame, M.F., Fry, B. Source and stability of soil carbon in mangrove and freshwater wetlands of the Mexican Pacific coast. Wetlands Ecol Manage 24, 129–137 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9475-6

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