Baja California’s desert mangroves are important carbon sink

Los Angeles Times : Mangroves, which populate tropical forests and coastal areas, may provide a valuable carbon sink, according to a recent study by Paula Ezcurra of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and colleagues. Not only do mangroves draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but when they decay, the CO₂-rich plant residue accumulates in peat bogs, burying the carbon underground for thousands of years. The researchers, who focused on the desert mangroves of Baja California, say that despite those mangroves’ short and stunted appearance, they may be able to sequester even more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the lusher mangroves that grow in tropical areas. “Mangroves represent the largest carbon sink per unit area in Mexico’s northern drylands,” write the researchers. But humans are destroying mangrove forests at a rate of 3% every year.