Restoration enhances carbon storage in mangroves after hurricane impacts

Abstract

Mangroves are globally important blue-carbon ecosystems, yet their resilience is threatened by extreme weather events and hydrological alterations. In southeastern Mexico, a large mangrove die-off occurred in 1995 following Hurricane Roxanne and Tropical Storm Opal, linked to storm-surge–driven hypersalinity, sedimentation, and prolonged flooding. In 2005, an ecological restoration program was launched in the Términos Lagoon region, focusing on hydrological rehabilitation and reforestation with Avicennia germinans . Fourteen years later, we assessed ecosystem recovery by quantifying total ecosystem carbon stocks (TECS), defined as the sum of 0–50-cm soil organic carbon and tree biomass carbon, across conserved, degraded, and restored sites, and by reconstructing vegetation cover dynamics from multi-decadal satellite imagery (1984–2023). TECS differed markedly among conditions: The restored site accumulated 286.0 ± 32.6 Mg C ha − ¹ (83% of the conserved site), whereas degraded sites stored only 133.0 ± 26.8 Mg C ha − ¹. The increase in TECS at the restored site was primarily associated with enhanced soil organic carbon stocks, consistent with improved hydroperiod, recovery of interstitial water physicochemical conditions, and renewed autochthonous organic matter inputs following hydrological reconnection and initial reforestation. Biomass carbon remained lower at the restored site, reflecting younger stand age, although vegetation indices indicated rapid canopy recovery within 7 years of the intervention. These results show that hydrological rehabilitation can substantially reestablish long-term carbon storage capacity in hurricane-impacted mangroves and highlight the need for sustained monitoring to evaluate ecosystem service recovery and guide climate mitigation and coastal resilience strategies.

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