Mangrove magic
Posted on: Tue 5 Jan 2021
They can stink like fish and rotten eggs, breed swarms of mosquitoes 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 underappreciated 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.
To examine the importance of “blue carbon ecosystems” Barometer’s Des Lawrence speaks to Paul Carnell from the School of Life and Environment Science at Deakin University.
Threatened blue carbon ecosystems store carbon 40 times faster than forests
Produced by Des Lawrence
Image: pxhere Public Domain
