Why do you plant Mangrove trees instead of other trees?Updated 9 months ago

No other tree species on the planet provides more environmental and socioeconomic benefits than mangrove trees. But the #1 reason we choose to plant mangrove trees is their remarkable carbon sequestration abilities.

Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world, and if kept undisturbed, mangrove forest soils act as long-term carbon sinks.

Mangrove forests cover just 0.1 percent of the planet’s surface but store up to 10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests. This carbon-storing superpower makes mangroves a critical part of the solution to climate change. In a single square mile, mangroves can stash away as much carbon as the annual emissions of 90,000 cars. Mangroves around the globe store about 6.4 billion metric tons of carbon in their soil.

Beyond carbon sequestration, mangrove forests are extremely important to the coastal ecosystems they inhabit. Physically, they serve as a buffer between marine and terrestrial communities and protect shorelines from damaging winds, waves, and floods. Mangrove thickets improve water quality by filtering pollutants and trapping sediments from the land, and they reduce coastal erosion. Ecologically, they provide habitat for a diverse array of terrestrial organisms, and many species of coastal and offshore fish and shellfish rely exclusively on mangroves as their breeding, spawning, and hatching grounds.