Mangroves mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly. In a recently published paper, researchers combined the use of cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery with field surveys to assess mangrove biomass loss. This study revealed the alarming toll illegal logging has taken on these ecosystems, cutting carbon stocks by a staggering 56% in just one year (2022-2023). The findings underscore the urgency of conservation as illegal logging reduced aboveground biomass from 15.819 Mg/ha in 2022 to just 8.927 Mg/ha in 2023.
Read the full paper here: Reduction of mangrove carbon stock ecosystems due to illegal logging using a combination of unmanned aerial vehicle imagery and field surveys
Mangrove Ecology 