Abstract
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.
Keywords: Blue Carbon, Belize, mangrove, sediment, biomass, Mesoamerican Reef
Authors
Associated Publication
Morrissette, H., Baez, S.K., Beers, L., Bood, N., Martinez, N., Novelo, K., Andrews, G., Balan, L., Beers, C.S., Betancourt, S.A. and Blanco, R., Belize Blue Carbon: Establishing a National Carbon Stock Estimate for Mangrove Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161829
Data Publication
This data publication was assembled and published by the Coastal Carbon Network. Please direct any related comments or inquiries to CoastalCarbon@si.edu.
Start Date: 2021
End Date: 2022
Species-specific allometric equations:
| attribute_name | species | equation | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| biomass_aboveground | Rhizophora mangle | \(AGB (kg) = 0.722 * DBH^{1.731}\) | Smith & Whelan, 2006 |
| biomass_aboveground | Avicennia germinans | \(AGB (kg) = 0.403 * DBH^{1.934}\) | Smith & Whelan, 2006 |
| biomass_aboveground | Laguncularia racemosa | \(AGB (kg) = 0.362 * DBH^{1.93}\) | Smith & Whelan, 2006 |
| biomass_belowground | Rhizophora mangle | \(BGB (kg) = 0.199 * 0.87^{0.899} * DBH^{2.22}\) | Komiyama et al., 2005 |
| biomass_belowground | Avicennia germinans | \(BGB (kg) = 0.199 * 0.72^{0.899} * DBH^{2.22}\) | Komiyama et al., 2005 |
| biomass_belowground | Laguncularia racemosa | \(BGB (kg) = 0.199 * 0.6^{0.899} * DBH^{2.22}\) | Komiyama et al., 2005 |
Standing Dead
Biomass (g) for standing dead wood in decay class 3 was determined by multiplying the wood volume (cm3) with a wood density of 0.69 g cm-3. Wood volume was calculated using the following equation (Howard et al., 2014):
\(Volume = [π * (100 * Tree Height (m)) / 12 ] * [Base Diameter (cm)^{2} + Top Diameter (cm)^{2} + (Base Diameter (cm) * Top Diameter (cm))]\)
Downed Woody Debris
Quadratic mean diameter was calculated for debris pieces measured in each plot using the equation (Howard et al., 2014):
\(QMD(cm) = \sqrt{∑(Each Diameter (cm)^{2})} / n\) , where n is the number of pieces.
Wood volume for debris pieces in a plot were calculated based on their QMD. For QMD under 7.6 cm, the following equation was used: \(Volume (m^{3} ha^{-1}) = [(π^2)*n*(QMD^{2})) / (8*Transect Length)]\)
For QMD exceeding 7.6 cm, the following equation was used: \(Volume (m^{3} ha^{-1}) = π^{2} * [∑(Each Diameter^{2}) / (8*Transect Length)]\)
Biomass Allometry Methods Citations:
Smith, T.J., Whelan, K.R.T., 2006. Development of allometric relations for three mangrove species in South Florida for use in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem restoration. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14, 409-419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-005-6243-z
Komiyama, A., Poungparn, S., Kato, S., 2005. Common allometric equations for estimating the tree weight of mangroves. Journal of Tropical Ecology 21, 471-477. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266467405002476.
Howard, J., Hoyt, S., Isensee, K., Telszewski, M., Pidgeon, E. (eds.) (2014). Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for assessing carbon stocks and emissions factors in mangroves, tidal salt marshes, and seagrasses. Conservation International, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature. Arlington, Virginia, USA. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/95127
Physical: Morrissette_et_al_2023_methods.csv
Physical: Morrissette_et_al_2023_plots.csv
Physical: Morrissette_et_al_2023_depthseries.csv
Physical: Morrissette_et_al_2023_biomass.csv
Intellectual Rights
This dataset is listed under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 and can be used with attribution.