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research
Blue carbon and climate change mitigation
As members of the Blue Carbon Initiative's Scientific Working Group, we are committed to providing the evidence base for mangrove and seagrass blue carbon. We do this through field measurements of carbon stocks and fluxes. We utilise these measurements in carbon accounting, for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (e.g., for Singapore) and for candidate carbon credit projects. We also work with the corporate sector to map the potential for blue carbon projects, and scope individual projects and landscapes.
Mangrove vulnerability to climate change
We investigate how mangroves respond to sea level rise, using radionuclides and the Rod Surface Elevation Table (RSET). We installed some of the first RSETs in Southeast Asia, and regularly train collaborators in the region to expand this network further. Contact us if you'd like to install RSETs in your own sites. We use these data to conduct national and regional modelling of mangrove vulnerability to sea-level rise. We also research how mangroves respond to other interacting climatic factors such as ENSO.
We are interested in how coastal ecosystems can help us mitigate and adapt to climate change, and how we can increase resilience of coastal ecosystems to climate change
We do this work around the world, to see where click here! For info about equipment and facilities in the Mangrove Lab click here.
Global mangrove dynamics and deforestation
Climate change isn't the only threat to mangroves. We are interested in the state of the world'd mangroves, mangrove dynamics and their impact on carbon emissions. We use aerial photography, airborne multispectral, satellite multispectral and LiDAR to map wetland change and deforestation. We do this at the sub-national scale (e.g., Myanmar), national scale (e.g., Singapore), regional scale (Southeast Asia) and at the global scale. Most recently, we identified oil palm as an under-recognized driver of mangrove loss. We also model global mangrove productivity and how it is affected by human and natural drivers.
Ecosystem services
Beyond blue carbon, we research other mangrove ecosystem services such as fisheries, wave attenuation, microclimate regulation, and cultural ecosystem services We have developed novel tools using social media to assess cultural ecosystem services such as the recreational, spiritual and aesthetic values of mangroves. We have combined these into national Natural Capital assessments.
Mangrove restoration
We want to see mangrove restoration done right. We advocate for Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR), applying our knowledge of geomorphology and ecology to mangrove restoration projects to improve seedling survival rates. We first worked with the nonprofit Blue Forests in Sulawesi, Indonesia to map elevations suitable for mangrove restoration. We then established our own community group and EMR project on Pulau Ubin, Singapore.
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