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Impact of elevated environmental pollutants on carbon storage in mangrove wetlands: A comprehensive review
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Researchers synthesized global studies on pollutant impacts in mangrove wetlands — which store about 10% of coastal ocean carbon — finding that microplastics reduce carbon stocks by 1-12% by impairing photosynthesis and destabilizing sediments, while heavy metals and oil spills compound the damage to these critical climate carbon sinks.
• Heavy metals disrupt microbes, increase CH 4 emissions and reduce mangrove CO 2 sequestration. • Microplastics impair root health and sediment structure and exacerbate co-pollutant C storage impacts. • Organic pollutants inhibit mangrove growth and microbial activity and weaken C assimilation and stability. • Oil spills harm photosynthesis and root systems and lower biomass and C stocks. Mangrove wetlands are vital blue carbon sinks within the global carbon cycle, contributing approximately 10 % of the total organic carbon buried in coastal marine environments. However, rapid urbanization and industrialization discharge pollutants such as heavy metals, microplastics, organic contaminants, and oil spills, threatening these carbon and biodiversity functions. In this review, synthesizing 38 global studies reveals that heavy metals (e.g., Hg, Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Ni, As) reduce sediment organic carbon by 0.57–8.06 % and increase CH 4 emissions by 90–150 μg g −1 d −1 by microbial alterations and impairing normal growth and development of mangrove plants. Microplastics diminish carbon stocks by 1–12 % through impaired photosynthesis and sediment destabilization, while organic pollutants (i.e., PBDEs, PAHs) inhibit plant growth and microbial carbon processing. Oil spills reduce photosynthetic capacity by more than 50 %, accelerating biomass loss. These impacts collectively destabilize mangrove carbon storage capacity, a key climate mitigation function. We propose evidence-based mitigation strategies, including pollution regulation of land-sea discharge pathways, restoration using resilient species (e.g., Avicennia marina ), and community-led conservation programs. Urgent interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to address multi-pollutant interactions and safeguard interconnected blue carbon ecosystems (salt marshes, seagrass beds) under intensifying anthropogenic pressure.
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