Carbon credit schemes already exist for rainforests; the new work suggests mangroves（红树林） could be included too. 

 

But other researchers say the economics depend on the global carbon price.

 

Presenting their results in Proceedings³ of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the US-based team emphasises that protecting mangroves has important benefits for wildlife as well.

 

Mangrove¹ habitats comprise less than 1% of all forest areas across the world. 

 

But for the biodiversity they support, and the benefits they bring to communities in the form of fishing habitats and storm protection barriers, they are extremely important.

 

They are also being lost at a greater rate than tropical rainforests. 

 

Similar to rainforests, they store carbon within their "biomass", which is released when the habitat is destroyed. 

 

Their ability to capture carbon may be on average five times that of tropical rainforests, so they have become of interest to carbon-focused conservation strategists. 

 

Now, Dr Juha Siikamaki of the think tank Resources for the Future and his US colleagues have shown that protecting mangroves and thereby⁴ reducing the amount of CO2 released may be an affordable⁵ way for countries to mitigate⁶ their carbon emissions⁷.

 

"We make the surprising finding that in most places, preserving mangroves is justified⁸ solely⁹ based on the avoided emissions, without any regard for the many other ecological¹⁰ and economic benefits mangroves are particularly well known for," Dr Siikamaki told BBC News. 

 

The research, which used new high resolution surveys of global mangrove biomass, suggests that protecting these habitats could be a viable¹¹ means for reducing emissions in comparison to other "carbon offset¹²" methods. 

 

"The bonus is that in doing so, we can preserve important habitats critical to coastal¹³ fisheries, rich in biodiversity, and home to hundreds of species of plants and animals, many of them endangered," co-author Professor James Sanchirico, from the University of California, Davis, said in a press statement. 

 

But Freya Roberts, a researcher at fact-checking service The Carbon Brief, told BBC News that the price of carbon quoted - on which this research is based - might be out-dated. 

 

"Since [the research was conducted], carbon prices have dropped due to an over-supply of permits," she said.

 

"With too many permits available, and poor economic conditions meaning big businesses are emitting less carbon dioxide, competition isn't forcing the carbon price up."

点击收听单词发音