Mangrove trees won’t survive sea-level rise by 2050: Study

Team Udayavani, Jun 6, 2020, 6:03 PM IST

A recent study claims that Mangrove trees won’t survive sea-level rise by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced,

Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, help protect coastlines and provide habitat for fish and other species.

According to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal science, mangroves around the world will be drowned by rapidly rising seas

Using sediment data from the last 10,000 years, the study estimated the chances of mangrove survival based on rates of sea-level rise.

The study covered 78 locations and explored how mangroves responded as the rate of sea-level rise slowed from more than 10 millimeters yearly 10,000 years ago to nearly stable conditions 4,000 years later.

Mangrove trees and shrubs grow along tropical and subtropical coastlines across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. Their roots shelter vulnerable young fish and crustaceans.

The study concluded that only a 6.2 percent chance that mangroves will be able to keep growing without being overtaken by the encroaching water by 2050.