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The Mangrove Forest of Quirimbas National Park Reveals High Carbon Stock Than Previously Estimated in Southern Africa

  • Wetland Ecology
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Abstract

Mangrove forests are known to store large amounts of carbon and provide several essential ecosystem services. Although mangrove forests vary across tropical and subtropical regions, forest conservation mechanisms have recognised the role of mangroves in climate change mitigation. Nevertheless, little about the total C stock in mangrove forests on the southern African coast has been reported. This is particularly true in Mozambique, where the coastline is covered with highly diversified mangrove forests, and there is still a lack of reports about its C stocks in mangrove forests. This work aims to quantify the above- and below-ground carbon stocks, and describe mangrove structure and species composition in the Quirimbas National Park (QNP), northern Mozambique. Based on a random sampling design, we established 41 circular plots. In each plot, we assessed alive trees, standing dead trees, litter, pneumatophores, woody debris, soil organic carbon (SOC) and natural regeneration, and C stock was quantified. We employed Parametric and Non-parametric statistical tests to check the differences between vegetation and soil parameters. Our study recorded six tree species in the mangrove forest of QNP with a stem density of 1222 ± 123 stem ha− 1 and 16.1 ± 2.1 m2 ha− 1 of basal area. The Importance Value Index indicated that Rhizophora mucronata is the most abundant, frequent, and dominant, while Xylocarpus granatum is the rarest in the area. The mangrove of QNP stores about 306.1 ± 49.4 Mg C ha− 1 of SOC (0-100 cm), 72.6 ± 11.7 Mg C ha− 1 of above-ground carbon, and 32.0 ± 5.0 Mg C ha− 1 of root carbon stock. The total C stock stored in the QNP mangrove forests is 410.2 ± 66.1 Mg C ha− 1 comparable to the most extensive mangrove forest in southern Africa. This study can foster meaningful progress in understanding the carbon cycling in Mangrove ecosystems and its potential role on climate change mitigation in southern Africa.

Resumo

Os mangais armazenam grandes quantidades de carbono (C) e fornecem vários serviços de ecossistema importantes. Apesar de os mangais variarem entre regiões tropicais e subtropicais, os mecanismos internacionais de conservação florestal reconheceram o papel dos mangais na mitigação das mudanças climáticas. Todavia, pouco foi relatado sobre a reserva total de C nos mangais da costa sul da África, particularmente em Moçambique, onde o litoral é coberto por mangais altamente diversificados. Este trabalho visa quantificar as reservas de C acima e abaixo do solo bem como descrever a estrutura e composição florística do mangal do Parque Nacional das Quirimbas (PNQ), norte de Moçambique. Com base em amostragem aleatória, estabeleceu-se 41 parcelas circulares e em cada parcela, avaliou-se árvores vivas e mortas em pé, liteira, pneumatóforos, resíduos de madeira, solo orgânico e regeneração natural, e quantificou-s a reserva de C. Testes estatísticos paramétricos e não paramétricos foram usados para verificar as diferenças entre os parâmetros de vegetação e solos. Neste estudo, registou-se seis espécies de árvores de mangal e 1222 ± 123 árvores ha− 1, com uma área basal de 16,1 ± 2,1 m2 ha− 1. O índice de valor de importância indicou que a Rhizophora mucronata é a mais abundante, frequente e dominante, enquanto a Xylocarpus granatum é a mais rara na área. O mangal do PNQ armazena cerca de 306,1 ± 49,4 Mg C ha− 1 de C orgânico do solo (0-100 cm), 72,6 ± 11,7 Mg C ha− 1 de C acima do solo, e 32,0 ± 5,0 Mg C ha− 1 de C das raízes. O C total do mangal do PNQ foi estimado em 410,2 ± 66,1 Mg C ha− 1. Estes resultados confirmam que os mangais armazenam uma quantidade significativa de reserva de C e o estimado no PNQ têm o potencial de desempenhar um papel significativo na mitigação das mudanças climáticas na África austral.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Quirimbas National Park for field support. Furthermore, the authors thank the Department of Forest Engineering for laboratory support. We also thank Dr. Edith Oliveira De Encarnacão for logistic support and Sir Issa Iacubo for field assistance.

Funding

This study was supported by Aga Khan Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, P.O. Box 257, Maputo, Mozambique

    Focas Francisco Bacar, Sá Nogueira Lisboa & Almeida Sitoe

  2. N’Lab, Nitidae, 77, Maputo, Mozambique

    Sá Nogueira Lisboa

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  1. Focas Francisco Bacar
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Focas Francisco Bacar, Sá Nogueira Lisboa and Almeida Sitoe. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Focas Francisco Bacar, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Bacar, F.F., Lisboa, S.N. & Sitoe, A. The Mangrove Forest of Quirimbas National Park Reveals High Carbon Stock Than Previously Estimated in Southern Africa. Wetlands 43, 60 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01707-1

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