A single peer-reviewed study of seven Jamaican mangrove sites estimated that the island’s forests hold about 4.7 million tonnes of carbon, with most in sediments below the roots. Different forest settings held different amounts in trees and sediment. The field measurements provide a basis for national carbon accounting, while the island-wide estimate combines sampled sites with mapped forest area rather than measuring every coastline.
Jamaica’s mangrove forests were estimated to hold about 4.7 million tonnes of carbon in a single peer-reviewed field study. The sediment estimate reached about 3.5 million tonnes. Living trees held around 1.1 million tonnes, and standing dead trees contained a smaller share. Mangroves are coastal forests whose roots grow in waterlogged ground.[1]
Researchers sampled riverine, fringing, cay and lake forests at seven sites. They assessed living tree tissue above and below ground, standing dead trees and sediment separately. Combining the sampled stocks with a recent island-wide forest map gave the national estimate; every stretch of coastline was not directly sampled.[1]
Forests associated with freshwater systems held more carbon in living biomass. Sediment carbon was especially prominent on small mangrove cays. Sediment acidity, salinity and forest type were associated with differences among carbon pools, making a single forest setting an incomplete guide to the whole island.[1]
The measurements provide country-specific information for including coastal carbon in Jamaica’s climate commitments. They quantify stored carbon at the sampled sites and mapped scale, rather than the annual rate at which forests remove carbon from the atmosphere. The study did not directly test a conservation or restoration intervention.[1]
