Comparative study of carbon stock in estuarine and oceanic mangroves

Mangrove holds a significant role in the ecosystem as an absorber of carbon dioxide. Mangrove stored more carbon than tropical forest. The objective of this study was to compare carbon stock between the estuarine and oceanic mangroves. Calculation of carbon stock was made though summing of surface and subsurface of carbon biomass, dead woods and trees carbon biomass, and soil carbon biomass. Live-trees carbon biomass was estimated based on allometric equation per species group. Results of the analysis showed that the ratio between estuarine and oceanic carbon biomass was 1.0:1.8. Comparison of soil carbon stock between estuarine and oceanic mangroves resulted in an average ratio of 1.8:1.0. Total carbon stock of mangrove reached 306.04 t C ha^-1, composed of 29.06 t C ha^-1 of tree carbon (9.49%), 21.75 t C ha^-1 carbon root (7.11%), 1.59 t C ha^-1 subsurface plant carbon (0.52%), and 253.65 t C ha^-1 of soil carbon (82.88%). The comparison of carbon biomass stock between soil carbon and trees, roots, and lower part of plants resulted in a ratio of 4.8:1.0. Estuarine mangrove habitat can be considered as better carbon trap than oceanic mangrove habitat.