Higher soil organic carbon sequestration potential at a rehabilitated mangrove comprised of Aegiceras corniculatum compared to Kandelia obovata

The present study compared the ecosystem organic carbon (OC) stocks and soil OC sources between two 12-year-old monospecific mangrove sites comprised of different species (Kandelia obovata in tree form and Aegiceras corniculatum in shrub form). We tested whether the carbon sequestration performance following rehabilitation varied with plantation of species in different forms and whether mangrove vegetation sequestrate OC more rapidly than soil pool. The results showed that mangrove rehabilitation increased the ecosystem OC stock relative to that of a non-vegetated bare flat. The accumulation of soil carbon was accompanied by increased soil total nitrogen contents and decreased δ¹³C values of soil OC, indicating that the increases in OC and TN contents were a function of accumulation of ¹³C-depleted mangrove materials in the soil. The sequestrated OC over the 12 years was considerably less in soil than in biomass at each mangrove site, suggesting that mangrove vegetation contributes more rapidly than the soil to ecosystem OC sequestration following rehabilitation before the vegetation has reached maturity. Compilation of the carbon stocks from worldwide rehabilitated mangrove forests with various ages further supports this finding. The K. obovata site had an apparently higher biomass OC stock but less OC in the soil than those at the A. corniculatum site. There was a higher standing leaf litter stock on the forest floor and more mangrove materials incorporated into the top 15 cm soil at the A. corniculatum site. These results suggested that the two rehabilitated mangrove sites had different development trajectories of both biomass and soil OC sequestration. Moreover, the performance of ecosystem carbon sequestration was related to plantation of different mangrove species. These carbon sequestration feature of rehabilitated mangrove forests therefore deserve attention in future rehabilitation programs to promote carbon sequestration performance.