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The important role mangrove forests play in sequestering organic carbon is well known, yet rates of organic carbon accumulation in macro‐tidal mangrove ecosystems are poorly resolved. Here we use 210Pb dating to present a 125‐yr record of carbon, nutrient and trace metal accumulation in sediments from an Amazon macro‐tidal mangrove forest. We find that the rate of organic carbon accumulation ranged from 23.7 to 74.7 g m−2yr−1(average 38 ± 13.5 g m−2yr−1), significantly lower than global averages for mangrove forests. These low rates may be associated with sediment grain‐size and sediment–water interface processes that drive organic matter oxidation and reduce carbon stocks in these highly dynamic macro‐tidal forests. Total nitrogen accumulation ranged from 1.4 to 5.1 g m−2yr−1(average 2.7 ± 0.9 g m−2yr−1) and phosphorus from 1.5 to 8.4 g m−2yr−1(average 4.3 ± 1.9 g m−2yr−1). Trace metal accumulation rates (As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn, Hg, Bo, V, Co, Mo, S, and Ba) were also lower than other tropical mangrove forests globally, but trace metal in more recent sediments for Mn, As, Cu, and Hg were elevated, likely reflecting human footprint in the region since early the 20thcentury. The ability to accurately quantify carbon accumulation rates in mangrove ecosystems is critical for climate change mitigation strategies and the implementation of carbon offset schemes globally.

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Mangroves provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling, soil formation, wood production, fish spawning grounds, ecotourism and carbon (C) storage. High rates of tree and plant growth, coupled with anaerobic, water-logged soils that slow decomposition, result in large long-term C storage. Given their global significance as large sinks of C, preventing mangrove loss would be an effective climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy. It has been reported that C stocks in the Indo-Pacific region contain on average 1,023 MgC ha−1(ref. ). Here, we estimate that Indonesian mangrove C stocks are 1,083 ± 378 MgC ha−1. Scaled up to the country-level mangrove extent of 2.9 Mha (ref. ), Indonesia’s mangroves contained on average 3.14 PgC. In three decades Indonesia has lost 40% of its mangroves, mainly as a result of aquaculture development. This has resulted in annual emissions of 0.07–0.21 Pg CO2e. Annual mangrove deforestation in Indonesia is only 6% of its total forest loss; however, if this were halted, total emissions would be reduced by an amount equal to 10–31% of estimated annual emissions from land-use sectors at present. Conservation of carbon-rich mangroves in the Indonesian archipelago should be a high-priority component of strategies to mitigate climate change.

Abstract: High rates of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon have the potential to alter the storage and cycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) across this region. To investigate the impacts of deforestation, we quantified total aboveground biomass (TAGB), aboveground and soil pools of C and N, and soil N availability along a land-use gradient in Rondônia, Brazil, that included standing primary forest, slashed primary and secondary forest, shifting cultivation, and pasture sites. TAGB decreased substantially with increasing land use, ranging from 311 and 399 Mg ha–1 (primary forests) to 63 Mg ha–1 (pasture). Aboveground C and N pools declined in patterns and magnitudes similar to those of TAGB. Unlike aboveground pools, soil C and N concentrations and pools did not show consistent declines in response to land use. Instead, C and N concentrations were strongly related to percent clay content of soils. Concentrations of NO3-N and NH4-N generally increased in soils following slash-and-burn events along the land-use gradient and decreased with increasing land use. Increasing land use resulted in marked declines in NO3-N pools relative to NH4-N pools. Rates of net nitrification and N-mineralization were also generally higher in postfire treatments relative to prefire treatments along the land-use gradient and declined with increasing land use. Results demonstrate the linked responses of aboveground C and N pools and soil N availability to land use in the Brazilian Amazon; steady reductions in aboveground pools along the land-use gradient were accompanied by declines in inorganic soil N pools and transformation rates.

There is an unprecedented need to preserve and restore aquatic and riparian biological diversity before extinction eliminates the opportunity. Ecological restorationis the reestablishment of processes, functions, and related biological, chemical, and physical linkages between the aquatic and associated riparian ecosystems; it is the repairing of damage caused by human activities. The first and most critical step in ecological restoration is passive restoration, the cessation of those anthropogenic activities that are causing degradation or preventing recovery. Given the capacity of riparian ecosystems to naturally recover, often this is all that is needed to achieve successful restoration. Prior to implementation of active restoration approaches (e.g., instream structures, channel and streambank reconfiguration, and planting programs), a period of time sufficient for natural recovery is recommended. Unfortunately, structural additions and active manipulations are frequently undertaken without halting degrading land use activities or allowing sufficient time for natural recovery to occur. These scenarios represent a misinterpretation of ecosystem needs, can exacerbate the degree of degradation, and can cause further difficulties in restoration. Restoration should be undertaken at the watershed or landscape scale. Riparian and stream ecosystems have largely been degraded by ecosystemwide, off-channel activities and, therefore, cannot be restored by focusing solely on manipulations within the channel. While ecological restoration comes at a high cost, it also is an investment in the natural capital of riparian and aquatic systems and the environmental wealth of the nation.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has resulted in the conversion of >230,000 km2 of tropical forest, yet little is known on the quantities of biomass consumed or the losses of nutrients from the ecosystem. We quantified the above-ground biomass, nutrient pools and the effects of biomass burning in four slashed primary tropical moist forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Total above-ground biomass (TAGB) ranged from 292 Mg ha-1 to 436 Mg ha-1. Coarse wood debris (>20.5 cm diameter) was the dominant fuel component. However, structure of the four sites were variable. Coarse wood debris comprised from 44% to 69% of the TAGB, while the forest floor (litter and rootmat) comprised from 3.7 to 8.0% of the TAGB. Total biomass consumption ranged from 42% to 57%. Fires resulted in the consumption of >99% of the litter and rootmat, yet <50% of the coarse wood debirs. Dramatic losses in C, N, and S were quantified. Lesser quantities of P, K, and Ca were lost by combustion processes. Carbon losses from the ecosystem were 58–112 Mg ha-1. Nitrogen losses ranged from 817 to 1605 kg ha-1 and S losses ranged from 92 to 122 kg ha-1. This represents losses that are as high as 56%, 68%, and 49% of the total above-ground pools of these nutrients, respectively. Losses of P were as high as 20 kg ha-1 or 32% of the above-ground pool. Losses to the atmosphere arising from primary slash fires were variable among sites due to site differences in concentration, fuel biomass, and fuel structure, climatic fluctuations, and anthropogenic influences. Compared to fires in other forest ecosystems, fires in slashed primary tropical evergreen forests result in among the highest total losses of nutrients ever measured. In addition, the proportion of the total nutrient pool lost from slash fires is higher in this ecosystem compared to other ecosystems due to a higher percentage of nutrients stored in above-ground biomass.

American bison (Bison bison) numbers in northern Yellowstone National Park increased during the last two decades, while those of elk (Cervus canadensis) decreased. We undertook this study to assess the potential effects of bison on woody vegetation and channel morphology in the park's northern ungulate winter range. Based on differences in the number of elk and bison, body mass, and the amount of time each utilizes the northern range, foraging pressure from bison began to exceed that of elk in 2007 and is currently ~10 times greater than that of elk. In the Lamar Valley study area, stand structure data (i.e., tree frequency by diameter class) for aspen (Populus tremuloides) and cottonwood (P. spp.) indicated that the growth of seedling/sprouts of these species into tall saplings and trees has been extensively suppressed by bison herbivory. For streams that crossed the valley floor, woody riparian vegetation was absent along their banks and channels were relatively wide and deep, conditions sustained by high levels of bison use. Overall, our findings indicated that the elevated numbers of bison, via herbivory, trampling, and tree bark effects, are limiting the structure, composition, and distribution of woody plant communities in the Lamar Valley, affecting the character of the valley's stream and river channels, and, in turn, influencing habitat and food-web support for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife species. The conservation success of bison recovery now may be adversely affecting another conservation goal, the restoration and maintenance of woody riparian vegetation and riparian ecosystems.

In addition to the largest existing expanse of tropical forests, the Brazilian Amazon has among the largest area of mangroves in the world. While recognized as important global carbon sinks that, when disturbed, are significant sources of greenhouse gases, no studies have quantified the carbon stocks of these vast mangrove forests. In this paper, we quantified total ecosystem carbon stocks of mangroves and salt marshes east of the mouth of the Amazon River, Brazil. Mean ecosystem carbon stocks of the salt marshes were 257 Mg C ha−1while those of mangroves ranged from 361 to 746 Mg C ha−1. Although aboveground mass was high relative to many other mangrove forests (145 Mg C ha−1), soil carbon stocks were relatively low (340 Mg C ha−1). Low soil carbon stocks may be related to coarse textured soils coupled with a high tidal range. Nevertheless, the carbon stocks of the Amazon mangroves were over twice those of upland evergreen forests and almost 10-fold those of tropical dry forests.