Study: Global Mangrove Forests Rebounding After Decades of Loss
Researchers say restoration and natural regrowth have pushed mangrove gains ahead of losses since 2010, after decades of decline from fish farming and development.
- On Thursday, researchers published findings in the journal Science showing that global mangrove forests have rebounded since 2010, with net gains outpacing losses for the first time in decades.
- Researchers credit stronger legal protections and natural expansion for the recovery, with public awareness of mangrove importance surging after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and subsequent disasters.
- Over the past 16 years, mangrove gains have exceeded losses, reducing cumulative decline since the 1980s to roughly 1 percent—substantially better than earlier projections.
- Some expanding growth may be 'double edged,' as nutrient runoff from upstream deforestation and mining activities fuels mangrove expansion in certain regions, researchers warn.
- A separate study published Wednesday in the journal Earth's Future warned that rising sea levels could reduce carbon storage in mangrove forests, potentially converting them from carbon sinks into carbon sources.
24 Articles
24 Articles
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