Environment

Mangrove magic

Posted on: Sun 1 Apr 2018

They can stink like fish and rotten eggs, breed swarms of mosquitos and lack the glamour of coral reefs. But mangroves, with other coastal habitats, are vitally important to our climate — and they’re under threat.

In just the past decade, scientists have discovered that these coastal habitats — called “blue carbon ecosystems” — play a huge role in tackling CO2 emissions. But human activities such as burning fossil fuels and coastal development have already caused half of them to disappear.

Barometer’s Des Lawrence speaks to Paul Carnell from the School of Life and Environment Science at Deakin University about the importance of “blue carbon ecosystems” .

Threatened blue carbon ecosystems store carbon 40 times faster than forests

Produced by Des Lawrence

Image: pxhere Public Domain

 

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