Biogeochemical Processes of C and N in the Soil of Mangrove Forest Ecosystems

• Main Authors: Yo-Jin Shiau, Chih-Yu Chiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Forests
• Subjects: mangrove; greenhouse gas; blue carbon; N cycle; C cycle
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/5/492

The mangrove forest provides various ecosystem services in tropical and subtropical regions. Many of these services are driven by the biogeochemical cycles of C and N, and soil is the major reservoir for these chemical elements. These cycles may be influenced by the changing climate. The high plant biomass in mangrove forests makes these forests an important sink for blue C storage. However, anaerobic soil conditions may also turn mangrove forests into an environmentally detrimental producer of greenhouse gases (such as CH₄ and N₂O), especially as air temperatures increase. In addition, the changing environmental factors associated with climate change may also influence the N cycles and change the patterns of N₂ fixation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and denitrification processes. This review summarizes the biogeochemical processes of C and N cycles in mangrove forest soils based on recently published studies, and how these processes may respond to climate change, with the aim of predicting the impacts of climate change on the mangrove forest ecosystem.