Estimation of Carbon Stocks from Mexico’s Pantanos de Centla Mangroves The blue carbon ecosystems of southeastern Mexico are among the largest of any measured globally Principal investigators: Dr. Boone Kauffman (President and Lead Scientist, Illahee Sciences International, Inc.), Dr. Humberto Hernández Trejo (Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco), María del Carmen Jesús García (Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco), Chris Heider (Watershed Professionals Network LLC), and Dr. Wilfrido M. Contreras Sánchez (Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco) Important Mexican Mangrove Carbon Stocks The mangroves of southeastern Mexico’s Pantanos de Centla— the largest wetland in Mesoamerica—contain exceptionally large carbon stocks, which are among the largest of any man- grove ecosystem on Earth and among the largest of any tropical ecosystem. Clearing mangroves so that the land or shoreline can serve other uses thus comes at a high cost, because the replace- ment use may not store nearly as much carbon or in fact may allow stored carbon to be lost through greenhouse gas emissions, and it may also fail to provide other important ecosystem ser- vices that are characteristic of mangrove forests. Research has been conducted to assess carbon stocks in these ecosystems and, in particular, the differences in carbon storage between mangroves along the coastal fringe and estuarine man- groves. The project also examined the carbon stocks of cattle pastures that were established on sites previously occupied by mangrove forests, including the potential emissions that could arise from conversion of mangroves to cattle pastures. Results indicate that mangrove carbon stocks in the Pantanos de Centla are exceedingly high compared to those of the upland forests of Mexico and, moreover, that significant emissions result from the Sabalo estuarine mangrove forest, Pantanos de Centla. conversion of mangrove forests to cattle pastures. This research project was carried out with support from the This research represents the first quantification of carbon stocks Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s (CEC’s) 2013– in the largest wetland in Mesoamerica. It is also the first time that measurements of carbon stocks and estimates of emissions 2014 project, North America’s Blue Carbon: Assessing the Role arising from converting these mangroves to other land uses have of Coastal Habitats in the Continent’s Carbon Budget. been published. Blue Carbon Carbono azul Carbone bleu Project Summary The total ecosystem stocks for mangrove sites varied greatly from Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems that are ecologically a minimum of 342 Mg C/ha at the Grijalva site to a maximum of and economically important at local to global scales. Their dis- 2,099 Mg C/ha at the Cometa site (Figure 1). The mean ecosystem proportionate contribution to carbon storage suggests that their carbon stock for the mangroves was 1,358 Mg C/ha, compared to conservation and restoration can be a pathway to help mitigate 458 Mg C/ha for the cattle pastures. The ecosystem carbon stocks greenhouse gas emissions. of the mangroves sampled in this study were larger than the global mean reported for all mangroves (approximately 965 Mg C/ha). Quantifying carbon emissions that result from mangrove conver- Similarly to soil pools, the Grijalva site was significantly different sion has been difficult, in part because of a lack of broad-scale data from all other sites at the low end, and the Cometa, Boca Pedro on the amount of carbon stored in these ecosystems, particularly Oeste, and Boca Pedro Este sites were significantly different from all belowground, and how other land uses may affect these stocks. other sites at the high end. Soil carbon pools accounted for a mean Data on the carbon stock losses and greenhouse gas emissions of 86% of the total ecosystem pool, with a range of 59% to 97%. Soils associated with land use is practically non-existent. This is a bar- made up >98% of the total ecosystem carbon stock in the pastures. rier to the establishment of ecosystem values related to mangrove conservation or restoration activities for either climate change mi- The losses in carbon stocks from mangrove conversion to cattle pasture (1,464 Mg CO e/ha) were seven times those of emissions tigation or adaptation strategies. 2 from dry forest conversion and three times greater than emissions The first objective of this study was to quantify the carbon stocks of from Amazon forest to pasture conversion. oceanic (coastal fringe) and estuarine mangroves in the Pantanos de Centla, Mexico. The second objective was to investigate how man- The results showed the effects of land use on soil properties grove conversion to cattle pasture affects the structure and size of throughout the soil profile and at depths >1 m. At these depths, soils carbon stocks and how this might compare to pasture conversion in in pastures were higher in bulk density, but lower in carbon concen- upland forests. Specific research questions included: What are the tration, carbon density, and carbon mass. Given the influences of carbon stocks of the mangroves of the Pantanos de Centla? How do land conversion and land use on soils, comparisons with intact man- they differ between coastal fringe and estuarine mangroves? What groves at similar depths should be made with recognition of diffe- are the carbon stocks of cattle pastures that were established on rences due to collapse, compaction, and erosion. These changes in sites previously occupied by mangroves? What potential emissions soil properties also increase the difficulty of determining losses due could arise from conversion of mangrove to cattle pasture? And to land cover change. Because of these factors, soil loss determina- finally, how do these compare to losses associated with conversion tions were based on comparing losses on an equivalent mass of mi- of upland tropical forest to pasture? neral soil in the top 1 m of mangrove soils rather than the total depth Figure 1. Total ecosystem carbon stocks of mangroves and former mangrove forests converted to cattle pastures in the Pantanos de Centla, Mexico 2,500 Mangroves Live wood aboveground C Dead wood aboveground C 2,000 Downed wood C Live wood belowground C Dead wood belowground C Pastures (carbon mass fraction ) -1 1,500 at soil depth) 0-15 ha 15-30 ha 30-50 ha C stock (Mg ha 1,000 50-100 ha >100 ha 500 0 Grijalva Boca Pedro Boca Pedro SabaloSabaloM Cometa M Gallego M Vidal P Cometa P Gallego P Vidal Oeste Este (1,464 Mg CO2e/ha). This yielded a much more conservative esti- Figure 2. Predicted emissions arising from conversion of mate of carbon loss than an estimate derived by the stock-change mangrove forests to pasture: to soil depth 1 m approach, which included aboveground pools and soils to 3 m soil based on biomass equivalence, and to 3 m based depth. Using this approach, the estimated mean emissions from on the stock change approach 5,000 mangrove to pasture conversion were 3,264 Mg CO2e/ha (Figure 2). Limiting losses to the surface 1 m as reported here may therefore be 4,500 underestimating losses from deeper horizons. It is clear that mangrove conversion to other land uses comes at a great 4,000 cost in terms of large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions as well as ) -1 3,500 losses in other important ecosystem services. The large carbon stocks, high rates of mangrove deforestation, and subsequent high greenhouse 3,000 e Mg ha 2 gas emissions point to the relevance of including mangroves in natio- 2,500 nally appropriate climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. 2,000 Pantanos de Centla Mangroves a High Priority Emissions (CO 1,500 Land use change such as wetland-to-pasture conversion leads to large ecosystem carbon loss and emissions to the atmosphere. Carbon 1,000 losses from mangrove conversion to pasture are extremely high 500 compared to other land uses. 0 Because of the size of their carbon stocks, their high greenhouse Cometa Gallego Vidal Mean 3 m mean gas emissions with land use, their high rates of deforestation, and their provision of many other ecosystem services, the Pantanos de Live tree Dead tree Wood Centla mangroves should be considered a high priority for inclu- Belowground dead Belowground live Soils sion in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Scientists from Oklahoma State University and the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco have formed a strong collaborative team to conduct important blue carbon research along the sou- thern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Pantanos de Centla). Tremen- dous opportunities for research, education, and outreach exist for this important and threatened region. Given the continental importance of the Pantanos de Centla (as well as the coastlands of Campeche, Tabasco, and Veracruz), the threats to its persistence, and the emissions when these blue carbon ecosystems are converted, additional studies on their eco- logy, management, and conservation are warranted. Future research needs include: • Soil sampling in wetlands that extends below 1 m to see all the effects of land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) • Measuring carbon stocks of other blue carbon ecosystems of the Pantanos de Centla, especially salt marshes and floodplain forest • Quantification of emissions from land use of mangroves and other coastal ecosystems (i.e., salt marshes) • Rates of carbon sequestration with restoration of degraded mangroves • Provision of graduate student opportunities for Mexican students interested in blue carbon dynamics Project Publications Kauffman J.B., H. Hernández Trejo, M.C. Jesús García, C. Heider, W.M. Contreras. 2015. Carbon stocks of mangroves and losses arising from their conversion to cattle pastures in the Pantanos de Centla, Mexico. Wetlands Ecology and Management. August 2015. Quantification of Soil Organic Carbon at Eight National Estuarine Research Reserve System Marshes in the United States These findings have implications for how marsh-scale carbon budgets are calculated and incorporated into blue carbon policies Principal investigators: Dr.