Aboveground and Belowground Carbon Stocks in Mangrove Ecosystems Along Carigara Bay in Leyte, Philippines

Abstract Mangrove forest ecosystems are known to sequester large quantities of carbon in biomass. This paper presents a quantification of carbon stocks in aboveground (standing trees, palm, shrub, standing dead trees, downed wood, and litter), belowground (root), and total carbon stocks, and further compared between forest types (fringe and riverine) and zones (landward, middleward, and seaward/along water) of mangrove forests along the Carigara Bay in Leyte, Philippines. The aboveground carbon stocks for the standing trees were found to be higher in riverine (297.94 ± 58.39) compared to fringe mangrove forests (188.92 ± 18.51), with an overall average of 243.43 ± 31.09 Mg ha− 1. Shrub mangroves were found to be the second most contributor to aboveground carbon stocks which was significantly higher in middleward zone (14.88 ± 6.11 Mg ha− 1), though no variation was found between mangrove forest types. Whereas, all other aboveground components were the least contributors (< 1% combined), with a total average of 0.31 ± 0.10, 0.32 ± 0.10, 1.57 ± 0.27, and 0.19 ± 0.02 Mg ha− 1 for palm (Nypa fruticans), standing dead tree, downed wood and litter, respectively. Meanwhile, no significant variations were detected for belowground (roots) carbon stock, with an average of 65.23 ± 6.84 Mg ha− 1. Total carbon stocks were higher in the riverine (380.83 ± 70.91), with an average of 317.19 ± 37.88 Mg ha− 1. Overall, the results of the study highlight the significant amount of carbon stored in the biomass of the studied mangrove forests, which indicates their potential role in climate change mitigation.