A preliminary work on blue carbon stock mapping in mangrove habitat using satellite-based approach

Abstract

Mangrove habitat is among blue carbon components that offer a strong base for mitigation strategies in coastal ecosystems. It provides numerous significant economic and ecological services such as being capable of serving as a long-term carbon sink via sequestering carbon from the atmosphere by photosynthesis as well as carbon burial within the sediment. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend the distribution of carbon dioxide stored in mangrove habitat in spatiotemporal bases. This article seeks to map mangrove blue carbon stock in coastal water of Penang, Malaysia using a moderate spatial resolution of passive remote sensing data. In this study, an established allometric equation for tree and root was implemented on Landsat ETM for mangrove area to estimate below-ground carbon and above-ground carbon stocks by measuring biomass using Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) parameter. Afterwards, the biomass of every single stand was multiply by 0.464 gC to obtain the contents of carbon. DBH-radiance relationship models were generated using polynomial regression equation and employed to predict the entire above-ground and below-ground biomass of mangrove in the study area by plotting DBH value against radiance value. For accuracy, acceptable R2 Adjusted values of 0.415, 0.438, 0.593 and p = values of 0.0503, 0.0440, and 0.0154 were obtained for blue, green and red bands, respectively. The study revealed the capabilities of satellite-based approach in estimating mangrove blue carbon stock, whose conservation and storage are paramount as outlined in the 2030 agenda of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.