News Climate

Mangrove forests on the Yucatan Peninsula store record amounts of carbon

The trees stockpile up to about 2,800 metric tons of carbon per hectare in the soil

Mangrove trees in Mexico's Cristalino Cenote

Mangrove trees surround Cristalino Cenote (pictured), a water-filled sinkhole on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Soils beneath mangrove-ringed cenotes have some of the highest carbon concentrations in the world.

James R.D. Scott/Moment/Getty Images Plus

By Carolyn Gramling

- More than 2 years ago

Coastal mangrove forests are carbon storage powerhouses, tucking away vast amounts of organic matter among their submerged, tangled root webs.