Scientific Assessment of Mangrove Blue Carbon Stocks in Metinaro, Timor-leste: Establishing a Site-specific Baseline for Climate Action

Scientific Assessment of Mangrove Blue Carbon Stocks in Metinaro, Timor-leste: Establishing a Site-specific Baseline for Climate Action | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Scientific Assessment of Mangrove Blue Carbon Stocks in Metinaro, Timor-leste: Establishing a Site-specific Baseline for Climate Action Norberto Gomes Araujo, Yudi Nurul Ihsan, Mega Laksmini Syamsuddin, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7980010/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mangrove ecosystems play a vital role in global climate regulation through carbon sequestration, yet they are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. Quantifying their blue-carbon potential is essential to support both conservation planning and international climate policy frameworks. Despite their ecological value, mangrove ecosystems in Timor-Leste remain underrepresented in blue-carbon research. The absence of site-specific baseline data, particularly in degraded and semi-arid regions such as Metinaro, limits their inclusion in global carbon accounting and restoration initiatives. This study aims to establish the first site-specific baseline of mangrove blue-carbon stocks in Metinaro, Timor-Leste, to contribute to international climate reporting and sustainable coastal management. Field data were collected using a stratified random sampling approach across thirteen plots to capture variability in disturbance intensity. Destructive sampling was applied to quantify five carbon pools: aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), necromass, litter, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Statistical analyses (ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD) were used to evaluate differences among carbon components. The total carbon stock was 132.94 Mg C ha⁻¹, dominated by SOC (71%), followed by necromass (20.46 Mg C ha⁻¹), AGB (13.10 Mg C ha⁻¹), BGB (2.88 Mg C ha⁻¹), and litter (1.57 Mg C ha⁻¹). Significant differences were observed among pools (F = 37.26, p < 0.001), confirming SOC as the primary and most stable carbon reservoir. These findings fill a critical data gap for global blue-carbon inventories and support the development of Tier-2 emission factors under IPCC guidelines. Incorporating mangrove carbon data into international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement enhances both climate mitigation and coastal resilience in small island nations. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Blue carbon mangrove ecosystem soil organic carbon stratified random sampling carbon stock Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. The authors are affiliated with Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD), Indonesia. The university provides academic and institutional support to the authors, including eligibility for Article Processing Charge (APC) reimbursement schemes for accepted publications. However, this institutional support did not influence the study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, or the conclusions drawn in this manuscript. Supplementary Files SupplementaryNorberto.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7980010","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":538523819,"identity":"738d3c91-50f3-4eab-a585-61745e6d6677","order_by":0,"name":"Norberto Gomes 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The authors are affiliated with Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD), Indonesia. The university provides academic and institutional support to the authors, including eligibility for Article Processing Charge (APC) reimbursement schemes for accepted publications. However, this institutional support did not influence the study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, or the conclusions drawn in this manuscript.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eScientific Assessment of Mangrove Blue Carbon Stocks in Metinaro, Timor-leste: Establishing a Site-specific Baseline for Climate Action\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Blue carbon, mangrove ecosystem, soil organic carbon, stratified random sampling, carbon stock","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7980010/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7980010/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMangrove ecosystems play a vital role in global climate regulation through carbon sequestration, yet they are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. Quantifying their blue-carbon potential is essential to support both conservation planning and international climate policy frameworks. Despite their ecological value, mangrove ecosystems in Timor-Leste remain underrepresented in blue-carbon research. The absence of site-specific baseline data, particularly in degraded and semi-arid regions such as Metinaro, limits their inclusion in global carbon accounting and restoration initiatives. This study aims to establish the first site-specific baseline of mangrove blue-carbon stocks in Metinaro, Timor-Leste, to contribute to international climate reporting and sustainable coastal management. Field data were collected using a stratified random sampling approach across thirteen plots to capture variability in disturbance intensity. Destructive sampling was applied to quantify five carbon pools: aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), necromass, litter, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Statistical analyses (ANOVA and Tukey\u0026rsquo;s HSD) were used to evaluate differences among carbon components. The total carbon stock was 132.94 Mg C ha⁻\u0026sup1;, dominated by SOC (71%), followed by necromass (20.46 Mg C ha⁻\u0026sup1;), AGB (13.10 Mg C ha⁻\u0026sup1;), BGB (2.88 Mg C ha⁻\u0026sup1;), and litter (1.57 Mg C ha⁻\u0026sup1;). Significant differences were observed among pools (F\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;37.26, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), confirming SOC as the primary and most stable carbon reservoir. These findings fill a critical data gap for global blue-carbon inventories and support the development of Tier-2 emission factors under IPCC guidelines. Incorporating mangrove carbon data into international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement enhances both climate mitigation and coastal resilience in small island nations.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Scientific Assessment of Mangrove Blue Carbon Stocks in Metinaro, Timor-leste: Establishing a Site-specific Baseline for Climate Action","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-05 14:34:18","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7980010/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b7904fa2-e31a-4b77-b0a7-b7fd5346a2f2","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":57492652,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences"},{"id":57492653,"name":"Biological sciences/Ecology"},{"id":57492654,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology"},{"id":57492655,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-19T10:38:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-05 14:34:18","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7980010","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7980010","identity":"rs-7980010","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}