Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Estimation of Mangrove Blue Carbon in Three Semi-arid Lagoons in the Gulf of California

  • Coastal Wetlands
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Blue carbon ecosystems are recognized as natural climate solutions due to their capacity to store carbon (C) in the vegetation and soil. Thus, the extent of such role by mangrove ecosystems has raised interest in the scientific community. Mangrove carbon stock above ground biomass is higher in humid tropical areas than in dry subtropical ones. However, a lack of information persists when it comes to the belowground C. This research aimed to determine the carbon stock in relation to total mangrove biomass in three semi-arid coastal lagoons in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Different methods were used, tree structure and pneumatophore measurements, litter traps, root and production cores; along with measurements of physicochemical parameters in sediment in surface and interstitial water. Mean carbon in the total mangrove biomass was 54.1 MgCorg·ha−1, with a maximum of 102.1 ± 14.2 MgCorg·ha−1 at the Lobos site. In arid areas, mangroves are characterized by larger amounts of belowground biomass associated with environmental factors such as pH, redox potential, and temperature, leading to a high Corg content belowground. Root production are high, enhancing the efficiency of belowground Corg storage related to the life cycle of roots (turnover). The presence of Conocarpus erectus (L), a new record of the distribution limit of the species in the Gulf of California (Lobos), attained the highest values of structural development, litter-based primary productivity, and belowground root production and biomass. Therefore, this species is recommended for restoration (reforestation), given its high primary productivity that stabilizes the coastline and increases carbon storage dynamics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Data are available with the corresponding author, and will be provided upon request.

References

  • Adame MF, Teutli C, Santini NS, Caamal JP, Zaldívar-Jiménez A, Hernández R, Herrera-Silveira JA (2014) Root Biomass and Production of Mangroves Surrounding a Karstic Oligotrophic Coastal Lagoon. Wetlands 34:479–488. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-014-0514-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adame MF, Cherian S, Reef R, Stewart-Koster B (2017) Mangrove root biomass and the uncertainty of belowground carbon estimations. Forest Ecology and Management 403:52–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.08.016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adame MF, Kauffman JB, Medina I, Gamboa JN, Torres O, Caamal J, Herrera-Silveira J (2013) Carbon stocks of tropical coastal wetlands within the karstic landscape of the Mexican Caribbean. PLoS ONE 8:e56569. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056569

  • Adame MF, Reef R, Santini NS, Najera E, Turschuell MP, Hayes MA, Masque P, Lovelock CE (2020) Mangroves in Arid Regions: Ecology, Threats, and Opportunities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, p. 106796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106796

  • Agraz-Hernández CM, Noriega-Trejo R, López-Portillo J, Flores-Verdugo FJ, Jiménez-Zacarías JJ (2006) Guía de Campo: Identificación de manglares en México. México D. F. Universidad Autónoma de Campeche. México: Centro de Ecología, Pesquerías y Oceanografía del Golfo de México, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Universidad Autónoma de México, Comisión Nacional Forestal

  • Ahalya A, Jin SP (2018) Blue Carbon Stock of Mangrove Ecosystems. International Journal of Science and Research 8(12):1371–1375

    Google Scholar 

  • Alcantara-Razo E, Padilla-Serrato JG, Aragón-Noriega EA (2019) La comunidad Yaqui y su importancia en la prodiucción pesquera. In: Arreola-Lizárraga JA, Garatuza-Payan J, Yépez-González EA, Robles-Morúa A (Eds). Capital Natural y Bienestar Social de la Comunidad Yaqui. ISBN: 978–607–609–204–0, First edition

  • Alongi DM (2020) Global Significance of Mangrove Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation. Science 2(3):67. https://doi.org/10.3390/sci2030067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee K, Sahoo ChK, Bal G, Mallik K, Paul R, Mitra A (2019) High blue carbon stock in mangrove forests of Eastern India. Tropical Ecology 61(1):150–167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-020-00072-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista-Olivas AL, Mendoza-Cariño V et al (2018) Above-ground biomass and carbon sequestration in mangroves in the arid area of the northwest of Mexico: Bahía del Tóbari and Estero El Sargento, Sonora. Revista Chapingo Serie Ciencias Forestales y Del Ambiente 24(3):387–403. https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchscfa.2018.02.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castañeda-Moya E, Twilley RR, Rivera-Monroy VH, Marx BD, Coronado-Molina C, Ewe SM (2011) Patterns of Root Dynamics in Mangrove Forests Along Environmental Gradients in the Florida Coastal Everglades, USA. Ecosystems 14:1178–1195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9473-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chave J, Andalo C, Brown S, Cairns MA et al (2005) Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests. Oecologia 145:87–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0100-x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chou MQ, Lin WJ, Lin ChW, Wu HH, Lin HJ (2022) Allometric equations may underestimate the contribution of fine roots to mangrove carbon sequestration. Sci Total Environ 833: 155032 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155032

  • CONABIO (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad)., (2013) Instructivo para presentar programas de monitoreo de manglares de México. México, D. F.: Programa de Restauración y Compensación Ambiental. Available online: http://www.conabio.gob.mx/web/proyectos/pdf/instructivos/Instructivo_Manglares_2013.pdf Accessed on 03 June 2022

  • Cormier N, Twilley RR, Ewel KC, Krauss KW (2015) Fine root productivity varies along nitrogen and phosphorus gradients in high-rainfall mangrove forests of Micronesia. Hydrobiologia 750:69–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2178-4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cowardin LM, Carter V, Golet FG, LaRoe ET (1979) Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. Department of the Interior, FWS. Washington, DC, United States

  • Donato DC, Kauffman JB et al (2011) Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Nature Geosciences 4:293–297. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ezcurra P, Ezcurra E, Garcillán PP, Costa MT, Aburto-Oropeza O (2016) Coastal landforms and accumulation of mangrove peat increase carbon sequestration and storage. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 113(16):4404–4409. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1519774113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flores-Verdugo F, Moreno-Casasola P, Agraz-Hernández C, Rosas HL, Pardo DB, Bello AT (2007) La topografía y el hidroperíodo: dos factores que condicionan la restauración de los humedales costeros. Boletín De La Sociedad Botánica De México, Sup 80:33–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Friess DA, Howard J, Huxham M, Macreadie PI, Ross F (2022). Capitalizing on the global financial interest in blue carbon. PLoS Climate. 1(8):e0000061. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000061

  • Fromard F, Puig H, Mougin E, Marty G, Betoulle JL, Cadamuro L (1998) Structure above-ground biomass and dynamics of mangrove ecosystems: New data from French Guiana. Oecologia 115:39–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García E (2004) Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Koppen. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geografía, p 246

    Google Scholar 

  • Giraldo B (2005) Belowground productivity of mangrove forests in southwest Florida. (PhD Dissertation) Louisiana State: Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University

  • Griscom BW, Adams J, Ellis PW, Houghton RA, Lomax G, Miteva DA, ... Fargione J (2017) Natural climate solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(44):11645–11650. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1710465114

  • Heiri O, Lotter AF, Lemcke G (2001) Loss on ignition as a method for estimating organic and carbonate content in sediments: reproducibility and comparability of results. Journal of Paleolimnol 25(1):101–110. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008119611481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernández LG, Arreola JA (2000) Patrones de distribución y abundancia de Callinectes arcuatus y Callinectes bellicosus (Crustacea: Portunidae) en la laguna costera Las Guásimas, Sonora, México. Resúmenes XII Congreso Nacional de Oceanografía 22 al 26 de mayo, Huatulco, Oaxaca, México

  • Herrera-Silveira JA, Pech-Cardenas MA, et al. (2020) Blue carbon of Mexico, carbon stocks and fluxes: a systematic review. PeerJ 8:e8790 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8790

  • Howard J, Sutton-Grier A, Herr D, Kleypas J, Landis E, Mcleod E, Simpson S (2017) Clarifying the role of coastal and marine systems in climate mitigation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15(1):42–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard J, Hoyt S, Isensee K, Telszewski M, Pidgeon E (eds.). (2014) Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for assessing carbon stocks and emissions factors in mangroves, tidal salt marshes, and seagrasses. Conservation International, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature. Arlington, Virginia, USA

  • Infante MD (2011) Estructura y dinámica de las selvas inundables de la planicie costera central del Golfo de México. (Doctoral dissertation). Jalapa, Veracruz, INECOL. A. C

  • Jaramillo VJ, Kauffman JB, Rentería-Rodríguez L, Cummings DL, Ellingson LJ (2003) Biomass, carbon, and nitrogen pools in Mexican tropical dry forest landscapes. Ecosystems 6:609–629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0195-4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman JB, Cummings DL, Ward DE, Babbitt R (1995) Fire in the Brazilian Amazon: 1. Biomass, nutrient pools, and losses in slashed primary forests. Oecologia 104:397–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00341336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman JB, Donato DC (2012) Protocols for the measurement, monitoring and reporting of structure, biomass and carbon stocks in mangrove forests. Working Paper 86. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

  • Klute A (1986) Methods of soils analysis. Part 1. Physical and mineralogical methods (2nd ed.). Madison, Wisconsin, EUA, pp. 1188

  • Komiyama A, Ong JE, Poungparn S (2008) Allometry biomass, and productivity of mangrove forests: A review. Aquatic Botany 89(2):128–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2007.12.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee SY, Primavera JH et al (2014) Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment. Global Ecology and Biogeography 23(7):726–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li SB, Chen PH, Huang JS, Hsueh ML, Hsieh LY, Lee CL, Lin HJ (2018) Factors regulating carbon sinks in mangrove ecosystems. Global Change Biology 24:4195–4210. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Medellín X, Ezcurra E (2012) The productivity of mangroves in northwestern México: a meta-analysis of current data. Journal of Coastal Conservation 16(3):399–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-012-0210-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Portillo J, Ezcurra E (1985) Litter fall of Avicennia germinans L. in a one-year cycle in a mudflat at the Laguna de Mecoacan, Tabasco, Mexico. Biotropica 17(3): 186–190. https://doi.org/10.2307/2388215

  • McKee KL, Cahoon DR, Feller IC (2007) Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through biotic controls on change in soil elevation. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16:545–556. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00317.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mokany K, Raison RJ, Prokushkin AS (2006) Critical analysis of root: shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Global Change Biology 12:84–96. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.001043.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Casasola P, Warner B (2009) Breviario para describir, observar y manejar humedales. México: RAMSAR Instituto de Ecología A.C., CONANP, US Fish and Wildlife Service US State Department. Available online: http://www1.inecol.edu.mx/inecol/libros/Breviario_Humedales.pdf Accessed on 03 June 2022

  • Morrisey DJ, Swales A, Dittmann S, Morrison MA, Lovelock CE, Beard CM (2010) The ecology and management of temperate mangroves. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 48:43–160. https://doi.org/10.1201/EBK1439821169-C2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Njana MA, Eid T, Zahabu E, Malimbwi R (2015) Procedures for quantification of belowground biomass of three mangrove tree species. Wetland Ecology and Management 23(4):749–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9417-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ochoa-Gómez JG, Lluch-Cota SE, Rivera-Monroy VH, Lluch-Cota DB, Troyo-Diéguez E, Oechel W, Serviere-Zaragoza E (2019) Mangrove wetland productivity and carbon stocks in an arid zone of the Gulf of California (La Paz Bay, Mexico). Forest Ecology and Management 442:135–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.03.059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ochoa-Gómez J, Acosta-Velázquez J, Anguamea-Valenzuela CA, Martinetto P (2021) Distribution and structure of Conocarpus erectus L. (Combretaceae) in the northern limit of the Pacific Ocean (Gulf of California). Ocean and Coastal Management 209:105645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105645

  • Pendleton L, Donato DC, et al. (2012) Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems. PLoS One 7(9): e43542. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043542

  • Peralta PL, Infante DM, Moreno-Casasola P (2009) Construcción e instalación de Piezómetros. In: Moreno-Casasola BG, Warner BG, Breviario para describir, observar y manejar humedales (Pp. 17–30). Xalapa, Veracruz, México: Serie Costa Sustentable No. 1. RAMSAR, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., CONANP, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US State Department

  • RAMSAR (2007) Ficha informativa de los humedales de Ramsar, Complejo Lagunar Bahía Guásimas –Estero Lobos. Available online: https://rsis.ramsar.org/es/ris/1790 Accessed on 25 July 2022

  • Robertson AI, Alongi DM (2016) Massive turnover rates of fine root detrital carbon in tropical Australian mangroves. Oecologia 180:841–851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3506-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Mejía ZM, López JB, Espinoza JDS, Yépez EA (2019) Vegetación y flora: capital natural y riqueza cultural. In: Arreola-Lizárraga JA, Garatuza-Payan J, Yépez-González EA, Robles-Morúa A (Eds). Capital Natural y Bienestar Social de la Comunidad Yaqui. ISBN: 978–607–609–204–0, First edition

  • Schile LM, Kauffman JB, Crooks S, Fourqurean JW, Glavan J (2017) Megonigal JP (2017) Limits on carbon sequestration in arid blue carbon ecosystems. Ecological Applications 27(3):859–874. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SEMARNAT (2010) NOM-059 Protección ambiental - especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestres - categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión, exclusión o cambio - lista de especies en riesgo. Diario Oficial, 30 de diciembre de 2010. Available online: https://www.profepa.gob.mx/innovaportal/file/435/1/NOM_059_SEMARNAT_2010.pdf Accessed on 03 June 2022.

  • Shaltout KH, Ahmed MT, Alrumman SA, Ahmed DA, Eid EM (2020) Evaluation of the carbon sequestration capacity of arid mangroves along nutrient availability and salinity gradients along the Red Sea coastline of Saudi Arabia. Oceanologia 62(1):56–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2019.08.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith TJ, Whelan KR (2006) Development of allometric relations for three mangrove species in South Florida for use in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem restoration. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14(5):409–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-005-6243-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steel A, Torrie M (1996) Bioestadística: Principios y procedimientos. México D. F. México: Edit. McGrawHill

  • Tamooh F, Huxham M, Karachi ., Mencuccini M, Kairo JG, Kirui B, (2008) Belowground root yield and distribution in natural and replanted mangrove forests at Gazi bay, Kenya Forest Ecology and Management 256:1290-1297

  • Tölgyesi C, Buisson E, Helm A, Temperton VM, Török P (2022). Urgent need for updating the slogan of global climate actions from “tree planting” to “restore native vegetation”. Restoration Ecology 30(3):e13594. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13594

  • Toma TK, Nakamura P, Patanaponpaiboon P, Ogino K (1991) Effect of flooding water level and plant density on growth of pneumatophore of Avicennia marina. Tropics 1:75–82. https://doi.org/10.3759/tropics.1.75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torres JR, Barba E, Choix FJ (2019) Production and biomass of mangrove roots in relation to hydroperiod and physico-chemical properties of sediment and water in the Mecoacan Lagoon, Gulf of Mexico. Wetlands Ecology and Management 27:427–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-019-09669-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torres JR, Infante-Mata D, Sánchez AJ, Espinoza-Tenorio A, Barba E (2017) Atributos estructurales, productividad (hojarasca) y fenología del manglar en la Laguna Mecoacán, Golfo de México [Structural attributes, productivity (litter) and mangrove phenology in Laguna Mecoacán, Gulf of Mexico]. Revista de Biología Tropical, 65:1592–1608. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v65i4.26653

  • Torres JR, Sanchez‐Mejia ZM, Arreola-Lizárraga JA, Yépez EA, Reynaga-Franco FD, Choix FJ (2021) Root biomass and productivity in subtropical arid mangroves from the Gulf of California. Rhizosphere 18:100356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2021.100356

  • Twilley RW, Lugo AE, Patterson-Zucca C (1986) Litter production and turnover in basin mangrove forests in southwest Florida. Ecology 6(3):670–683. https://doi.org/10.2307/1937691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Virgulino-Junior PC, Carneiro DN, Nascimento WR Jr, Cougo MF, Fernandes MEB (2020) Biomass and carbon estimation for scrub mangrove forests and examination of their allometric associated uncertainties. PLoS ONE 15(3):e0230008. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230008

  • Wijaya A, Liesenberg V, Gloaguen R (2010) Retrieval of forest attributes in complex successional forests of Central Indonesia: modeling and estimation of bitemporal data. Forest Ecology and Management 259(12):2315–2326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yepiz LM (1990) Diversidad, distribución y abundancia de la ictiofauna en tres lagunas costeras de Sonora, México. Maestría thesis. UABC. Ensenada, Baja California, México, 168 p

  • Zeng Y, Friess DA, Sarira TV, Siman K, Koh LP (2021) Global potential and limits of mangrove blue carbon for climate change mitigation. Current Biology 31(8):1737–1743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.070

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ana Rubí Flores Espinoza and Trinidad Sauceda Montijo for their support in the field work and processing of samples in the laboratory.

Funding

National Technological of Mexico (TecNM) for the financing under the project tw1j2k (13127) project approved for Scientific Research CI-02/2021A, oriented to carbon in the species Nymphaea elegans, with additional results of the present investigation of mangroves of the Yaqui coast.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Jony R. Torres: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Supervision, Formal analysis, Writing, Funding acquisition. Zulia M. Sanchez-Mejia: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing. Alejandro Alcudia-Aguilar: Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. Ojilve R. Medrano-Pérez: Formal analysis, writing – review & editing, Visualization, Writing – original draft. Ramón H. Barraza-Guardado: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft. R. Suzuky Pinto: Formal analysis, Validation, Visualization.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jony R. Torres.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Torres, J.R., Sanchez-Mejia, Z.M., Alcudia-Aguilar, A. et al. Estimation of Mangrove Blue Carbon in Three Semi-arid Lagoons in the Gulf of California. Wetlands 43, 11 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01659-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01659-6

Keywords

Navigation