Dataset: National total ecosystem carbon stock for the mangroves of Belize

This dataset release presents the first national total ecosystem carbon stock values for the mangrove of Belize associated with the published manuscript, “Belize Blue Carbon: Establishing a national carbon stock estimate for mangrove ecosystems”. The Belize Blue Carbon project was a collaborative approach to comprehensive nationwide sampling of a range of mangrove ecotypes for ten mangrove sites and one seagrass sampling site. Sampling occurred in September 2021 and March 2022 along the full length of the Belizean coastline and offshore cayes, with species, distribution, hydrology, etc., varying between all sites for the highest level of representative sampling possible. Each site except two had   two transects of six plots each [Hicks Caye had one transect for training purposes, and New River’s second transect only had three plots]. At the plot level (n = 111), almost 4,000 mangrove biomass measurements are condensed for average height, canopy width, and DBH, and also live, dead, and total biomass carbon, along with water quality parameters and site descriptions. At the sample level (n = 1356 for mangroves, n = 21 for seagrass), sediment core data are presented with loss on ignition, bulk density, and carbon values. These data supported the nationally determined contribution (NDC) update of Belize, and will be used to inform the country’s mangrove protection and restoration commitments.