In the face of continued deforestation, the high carbon stocks in mangrove forests unveiled by Donato et al. provide a strong incentive to consider mangrove ecosystems as priority areas for conservation. Furthermore, these results highlight the need for scientists and funding agencies to address uncertainties regarding the fate of the carbon after land clearance. Only a handful of studies have quantified the loss of sediment carbon after mangrove clear-cutting – but all suggest that these losses are very significant (for example, up to 50% loss in the upper 15 cm of sediment after 8 yr). Furthermore, studies monitoring carbon losses over longer time periods, or the emission of other greenhouse gases, are lacking.
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