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Integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation: Potential for blue carbon sequestration

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Abstract

Globally, shrimp farming has had devastating effects on mangrove forests. However, mangroves are the most carbon-rich forests, with blue carbon (i.e., carbon in coastal and marine ecosystems) emissions seriously augmented due to devastating effects on mangrove forests. Nevertheless, integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation has emerged as a part of the potential solution to blue carbon emissions. Integrated mangrove-shrimp farming is also known as organic aquaculture if deforested mangrove area does not exceed 50% of the total farm area. Mangrove destruction is not permitted in organic aquaculture and the former mangrove area in parts of the shrimp farm shall be reforested to at least 50% during a period of maximum 5 years according to Naturland organic aquaculture standards. This article reviews integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation that can help to sequester blue carbon through mangrove restoration, which can be an option for climate change mitigation. However, the adoption of integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation could face several challenges that need to be addressed in order to realize substantial benefits from blue carbon sequestration.

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Notes

  1. Shrimps constitute a large group of crustaceans and they are widely distributed in marine and brackish water habitats. Most common shrimp aquaculture species are Penaeus monodon, P. indicus, P. japonicas, and P. merguiensis.

  2. The colors of carbon are fossil fuels “brown carbon,” dust particles “black carbon,” terrestrial ecosystems “green carbon,” and coastal and marine ecosystems “blue carbon” (Nellemann et al. 2009).

  3. Carbon sequestration is the process of increasing the carbon content of a reservoir other than the atmosphere. Sequestration is the removal of atmospheric CO2 through biological (photosynthesis) or geological (storages in underground reservoirs) processes.

  4. Carbon emission is the release of carbon into the atmosphere, which is attached to O2 and becomes CO2. One ton of carbon becomes 3.67 tons of CO2 in the atmosphere.

  5. Anthropogenic climate change refers to the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.

  6. Naturland is a renowned organic certifying agency of Germany that initiated the first international organic aquaculture project. In 1995, the first international organic aquaculture project aimed at developing a standard for organic salmon culture was launched in Ireland with the help of the Naturland Association, based on principles of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the European organic regulations (IFOAM EU Group 2010).

  7. Sustainable intensification produces more food from the same area of land and water while reducing negative environmental impacts.

  8. Mangrove restoration is the generation of mangrove forest ecosystems in areas where they have previously existed. Reforestation and mangrove restoration are often interchangeably used.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported through the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. The study was a part of the first author’s research work under the Georg Forster Research Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen, Germany. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors. We thank three anonymous reviewers for insightful comments and suggestions.

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Ahmed, N., Thompson, S. & Glaser, M. Integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation: Potential for blue carbon sequestration. Ambio 47, 441–452 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-017-0946-2

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