Edinburgh Napier University

  This research has two related aims, both focused on a better understanding of carbon cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in mangroves:
1) To examine how controlled cutting, which reproduces on a small scale the commercial cutting that has started again in Kenya, affects carbon stored below the ground and greenhouse gas emissions, along with other factors of importance to a healthy mangrove ecosystem such as the communities of fish and crabs that live there.
2) To determine the sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are lost from the soil in mangrove ecosystems - for example, whether this is coming mostly from the respiration of the roots or from decomposition of organic matter in the soil. We will also determine the productivity of mangrove roots, allowing us to estimate how quickly such roots can grow and trap carbon.
In addition to these main aims, we will also be training Kenyan scientists and involving a local women's group and school children in mangrove education and restoration events.