20
A “dirty expedition”: Discovering Indonesia’s mangroves Photo story by Kate Evans  

Mangrove photo story

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

 

Citation preview

Page 1: Mangrove photo story

                                                            A “dirty expedition”: Discovering Indonesia’s mangroves Photo story by Kate Evans

 

Page 2: Mangrove photo story

From Sumatera to Papua, Indonesia’s coastlines are fringed with mangroves. With three million hectares of this unique forest ecosystem, Indonesia’s estuaries and bays shelter nearly a quarter

of all of the world’s remaining mangroves.

Page 3: Mangrove photo story

Mangroves protect coastlines from high seas, provide nurseries for young "sh and are a habitat for many unique species.

Page 4: Mangrove photo story

Recent CIFOR research has discovered these ecosystems also store three times as much carbon as other tropical forests. is is partly because mangroves produce large quantities of leaves, which fall and decay as leaf litter, trapping the carbon in their

rich soils.

Page 5: Mangrove photo story

But if the mangroves are cut down – for shrimp farms, for example, a major threat in Indonesia – all that carbon is released into the atmosphere.

Page 6: Mangrove photo story

is means more research into mangroves, carbon and climate change is urgent. A team of scientists is currently trying to "nd out exactly how much carbon is stored in different mangrove

ecosystems.    

Page 7: Mangrove photo story

 To maximise the time available for work, the team have to enter the forest while the tide is still high.

   

Page 8: Mangrove photo story

First, they need to measure out a transect 150

metres long, with 6 plots along it - each a circle with a radius of 7 metres.

Page 9: Mangrove photo story

 en the trees inside each plot are measured….

   

Page 10: Mangrove photo story

e team records measurements of the trees, as well as the soil PH,

and the size and number of woody debris lying in the mud.

Page 11: Mangrove photo story

All parts of the ecosystem in the plot need to be measured and weighed.

Page 12: Mangrove photo story

e scientists take samples of each part of the tree. ey’ll be taken back to the lab to be analysed for their carbon content.

Page 13: Mangrove photo story

Mangroves have two kinds of roots – aboveground or ‘prop’ roots that support the tree in the tides, and below-ground roots. is expedition is especially focussed on determining the carbon content of the little-studied below-

ground roots.

Page 14: Mangrove photo story

Extracting the roots from the thick mud is no easy task.

Page 15: Mangrove photo story

e roots are washed to remove mud and soil…

Page 16: Mangrove photo story

en they are separated into above-ground and below-ground sections,

and weighed.

Page 17: Mangrove photo story

e entire tree must be dismembered – a destructive process but necessary if the scientists are to measure every part – and gain information that may help save many more mangroves.

Page 18: Mangrove photo story

It’s a job requiring care, accuracy – and brute strength.

Page 19: Mangrove photo story

We are doing science in a dirty way” says expedition leader Joko Purbopuspito. But the mud, mosquitoes and effort are worth it, he says, if CIFOR can learn valuable information about this

special ecosystem.

Page 20: Mangrove photo story

is work is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry

and is supported by USAID.

For more information on CIFOR’s wetlands research visit: www.cifor.org/swamp