Mangroves are recognized for their valued ecosystem services to coastal areas, and the functional linkages between those services and ecosystem carbon stocks have been established. However, spatially explicit inventories are necessary to facilitate management and protection of mangroves, as well as providing a foundation for payment for ecosystem service programs such as REDD+. We conducted an inventory of carbon stocks in mangroves within Pongara National Park (PNP), Gabon using a stratified random sampling design based on forest canopy height derived from TanDEM-X remote sensing data. Ecosystem carbon pools, including aboveground and belowground biomass and necromass, and soil carbon to a depth of 2 m were assessed using measurements and samples from plots distributed among three canopy height classes within the park. There were two mangrove species within the inventory area in PNP, Rhizophora racemosa and R. harrisonii. R. harrisonii was predominant in the sparse, low-stature stands that dominated the west side of the park. In the east side of the park, both species occurred in tall-stature stands, with tree height often exceeding 30 m. Canopy height was an effective means to stratify the inventory area, as biomass was significantly different among the height classes. Despite those differences in aboveground biomass, the soil carbon density was not significantly different among height classes. Soils were the main component of the ecosystem carbon stock, accounting for over 84% of the total. The ecosystem carbon density ranged from 644 to 943 Mg C ha⁻¹ among the three height classes. The ecosystem carbon stock within PNP is estimated to be 40,588 Gg C. The combination of pre-inventory information about stand conditions and their spatial distribution within the assessment area obtained from remote sensing data and a spatial decision support system were fundamental to implementing this relatively large-scale field inventory. This work exemplifies how mangrove carbon stocks can be quantified to augment national C reporting statistics, provide a baseline for projects involving monitoring, reporting and verification (i.e., MRV), and provide data on the forest composition and structure for sustainable management and conservation practices.

红树林因其对沿海地区有价值的生态系统服务而受到认可，并且这些服务与生态系统碳储量之间的功能联系已经建立。然而，空间明确的清单对于促进红树林的管理和保护以及为 REDD+ 等生态系统服务计划的支付提供基础是必要的。我们使用基于来自 TanDEM-X 遥感数据的森林冠层高度的分层随机抽样设计，对加蓬 Pongara 国家公园 (PNP) 内的红树林中的碳库进行了清查。生态系统碳库，包括地上和地下生物量和死尸，以及深度为 2 m 的土壤碳，使用分布在公园内三个冠层高度等级的地块的测量和样本进行评估。Rhizophora racemosa和R. harrisonii。R. harrisonii在公园西侧占主导地位的稀疏、矮矮的看台中占主导地位。在公园东侧，这两种树种均出现在高大的林分中，树高常超过30 m。冠层高度是对清单区域进行分层的有效手段，因为生物量在不同高度等级之间存在显着差异。尽管地上生物量存在这些差异，但不同高度等级的土壤碳密度没有显着差异。土壤是生态系统碳储量的主要成分，占总量的84%以上。生态系统碳密度范围为 644 至 943 Mg C ha ^-1在三个身高等级中。PNP 内的生态系统碳储量估计为 40,588 Gg C。从遥感数据中获得的评估区内林分状况及其空间分布的库存前信息与空间决策支持系统相结合是实施这一相对较大的基础- 规模的现场库存。这项工作举例说明了如何量化红树林碳储量以增加国家碳报告统计数据，为涉及监测、报告和验证（即 MRV）的项目提供基线，并为可持续管理和保护实践提供有关森林组成和结构的数据。