Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Early Access

Regulating ecosystem services of mangrove forests: A review

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12957
Submitted
27 November 2025
Published
24-08-2026
Versions

Abstract

The current generation did not understand or overlook the ecosystem services of mangroves. The protection services offered by mangroves were evident during the tsunami in 2004 and cyclone gaja in 2018 in India. They protected coastal vegetation and thousands of lives from severe damage. In addition, mangrove forests serve as important carbon (C) sinks, absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and storing it in their above-ground and below-ground biomass and sediments for thousands of years. Mangrove forests can absorb four times more C than tropical rainforests. Local communities depending on mangrove forests throughout the world realised their socioeconomic and ecological importance and the need for local conservation strategies. Since mangrove forest sediments serve as a breeding ground for fish, prawns and crabs, mangroves are a core source of income for the people who live in the vicinity. Mangrove ecosystems are increasingly degraded by land clearing, logging, overharvesting, cattle grazing, fuelwood extraction and tourism activities. Thus, this review aims to highlight the services and importance of the mangrove ecosystem, as we need to save this environment at the outset of any modalities.

References

  1. 1. Kathirvelpandian A, Rasheeq A, Kantharajan G, Kumawat T, Ajith Kumar TT, Sarkar UK. Evaluating the climate change-induced vulnerability of the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem through a stakeholder-centric multiscale approach. J Water Clim Change. 2024;15(8):4177–95. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2024.373
  2. 2. Hussain FS, Bilal H, Al-Ansari T. Quantifying the role of mangroves in carbon sequestration in Qatar's mangrove forests. Ecol Inform. 2025;103332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2025.103332
  3. 3. Rahmadi MT, Yuniastuti E, Suciani A, Harefa MS, Persada AY, Tuhono E. Threats to mangrove ecosystems and their impact on coastal biodiversity: a study on mangrove management in Langsa City. Indones J Earth Sci. 2023;3(2):A627. https://doi.org/10.52562/injoes.2023.627
  4. 4. Chowdhury A, Naz A, Maiti SK. Variations in soil blue carbon sequestration between natural mangrove metapopulations and a mixed mangrove plantation: a case study from the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest. Life. 2023;13(2):271. https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020271
  5. 5. Meraj G, Abouleish MY, Ali T, Hashimoto S, Marazi A, Chakrabortty R, et al. Middle eastern mangroves at the arid limit (Red Sea and Arabian/Persian Gulf): eco-biophysical dynamics, blue-carbon MRV, climate-risk pathways and governance for resilient restoration-a comprehensive review. Front Mar Sci. 2025;12:1695426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1695426
  6. 6. Jia M, Wang Z, Mao D, Ren C, Song K, Zhao C, et al. Mapping global distribution of mangrove forests at 10-m resolution. Sci Bull. 2023;68(12):1306–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.05.004
  7. 7. Kanjin K, Alam BM. Assessing changes in land cover, NDVI and LST in the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh and India: a GIS and remote sensing approach. Remote Sens Appl Soc Environ. 2024;36:101289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2024.101289
  8. 8. Akbar Hossain K, Masiero M, Pirotti F. Land cover change across 45 years in the world’s largest mangrove forest (Sundarbans): the contribution of remote sensing in forest monitoring. Eur J Remote Sens. 2024;57(1):2097450. https://doi.org/10.1080/22797254.2022.2097450
  9. 9. Gnanappazham L, Ramasubramanian R, Punitha S, Nagarajan R. Mangrove wetlands of Tamil Nadu. In: Marine and Coastal Resources of India: Selected Case Studies. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland; 2025. p. 477–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-81276-7_26
  10. 10. Kanan AH, Masiero M, Pirotti F. Estimating economic and livelihood values of the world’s largest mangrove forest (Sundarbans): a meta-analysis. Forests. 2024;15(5):837. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050837
  11. 11. Selvam V, Ravichandran K, Karunakaran K, Mani KG, Evanjalin JB, Gnanappazham L. Pichavaram mangrove wetlands: Situation Analysis. Chennai: MSSRF; 2010. p. 39.
  12. 12. Zankat M, Bhavsar S, Modi N. The ecological status and distribution of mangrove in Gujarat: a systematic review. Int J Sci Res Sci Technol. 2025;12:91–102. https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST
  13. 13. Friis G, Killilea ME. Mangrove ecosystems of the United Arab Emirates. In: A natural history of the Emirates. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland; 2023. p. 217–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37397-8_7
  14. 14. Ohte N, Yamamoto K, Jha R, Srivastava S, Joshi P, Bhanani M, et al. Validation of traditional pastoralist practices based on ecological observations of a camel herding community and coastal mangrove forests of Kutch, Gujarat, India. Community Sci. 2025;4(1):e2024CSJ000095. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024CSJ000095
  15. 15. Dorenbosch M, Verberk WC, Nagelkerken I, Van der Velde G. Influence of habitat configuration on connectivity between fish assemblages of Caribbean seagrass beds, mangroves and coral reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2007;334:103–16. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps334103
  16. 16. James RK, Keyzer LM, Van de Velde SJ, Herman PM, Van Katwijk MM, Bouma TJ. Climate change mitigation by coral reefs and seagrass beds at risk: how global change compromises coastal ecosystem services. Sci Total Environ. 2023;857:159576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159576
  17. 17. Akram H, Hussain S, Mazumdar P, Chua KO, Butt TE, Harikrishna JA. Mangrove health: A review of functions, threats and challenges associated with mangrove management practices. Forests. 2023;14(9):1698. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091698
  18. 18. Anggoro AW, Castro M, Ilman M, Leavitt S, Basir, Nirwan M, et al. Conservation for production? The benefits of mangroves for sustainable shrimp aquaculture. Aquac Int. 2025;33(5):377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-025-02056-y
  19. 19. Sarun H, Hun H. Mangroves and blue carbon: importance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. J Agric Environ. 2026;3(2):281–4.
  20. 20. Nam VN, Sasmito SD, Murdiyarso D, Purbopuspito J, MacKenzie RA. Carbon stocks in artificially and naturally regenerated mangrove ecosystems in the Mekong Delta. Wetlands ecology and management. 2016;24(2):231–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9479-2
  21. 21. Sarlin PJ, Morris S, Morris S, Morris S, Joseph P. Heronries on a populous urban agglomeration and suburbs on the southwest coast of India: Nesting species and nesting trees. Romanian J Biol. 2022.
  22. 22. Tanvi G, Tamanna C, Pravinsang D, Ashish S, Solanki D. Studies on nesting colonies of heronry birds in Bhavnagar City, Gujarat, India. Indian J Ecol. 2021;48(1):91–7.
  23. 23. Kauffman JB, Hernandez Trejo H, del Carmen Jesus Garcia M, Heider C, Contreras WM. Carbon stocks of mangroves and losses arising from their conversion to cattle pastures in the Pantanos de Centla, Mexico. Wetl Ecol Manag. 2016;24(2):203–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9453-z
  24. 24. Duke NC, Meynecke JO, Dittmann S, Ellison AM, Anger K, Berger U, et al. A world without mangroves? Science. 2007;317(5834):41–2. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.317.5834.41b
  25. 25. Iwasaki S, Razafindrabe BH, Shaw R. Fishery livelihood and adaptation to climate change: Chilka lagoon, India. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change. 2009;14:339–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-009-9167-8
  26. 26. Bukoski JJ, Dronova I, Potts MD. Net loss statistics underestimate carbon emissions from mangrove land use and land cover change. Ecography. 2022;2022(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05982
  27. 27. Bhattacharya S, Kolandhasamy P, Mandal A, Rajaram R, Darbha GK. Ecological risk assessment and ingestion of microplastics in edible finfish and shellfish species collected from tropical mangrove forest, Southeastern India. Chemosphere. 2025;377:144308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144308
  28. 28. McAfee D, Reis-Santos P, Jones AR, Gillanders BM, Mellin C, Nagelkerken I, et al. Multi-habitat seascape restoration: optimising marine restoration for coastal repair and social benefit. Front Mar Sci. 2022;9:910467. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.910467
  29. 29. Arathy GS, Prema D, Padua S, Kripa V, Jeyabaskaran R, Varghese E, et al. Sediment blue carbon stock of Avicennia officinalis in Vembanad Lake ecosystem, Kerala, India. J Mar Biol Assoc India. 2022;64(2):1–2. https://doi.org/10.6024/jmbai.2022.64.2.2220-01
  30. 30. Bardou R, Osland MJ, Scyphers S, Shepard C, Aerni KE, Alemu I JB, et al. Rapidly changing range limits in a warming world: critical data limitations and knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of mangrove range dynamics in the southeastern USA. Estuaries Coasts. 2023;46(5):1123–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01209-7
  31. 31. Lovelock CE, Hagger V, Feller IC, Amir AA, Machava António V, Owuor MA, et al. Mangrove biodiversity and ecosystem services. Nat Rev Biodivers. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00103-3
  32. 32. Sam K, Zabbey N, Gbaa ND, Ezurike JC, Okoro CM. Towards a framework for mangrove restoration and conservation in Nigeria. Reg Stud Mar Sci. 2023;66:103154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.103154
  33. 33. Bindiya ES, Sreekanth PM, Bhat SG. Conservation and management of mangrove ecosystem in diverse perspectives. In: Conservation and sustainable utilization of bioresources. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore; 2023. p. 323–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5841-0_13
  34. 34. Sidik F, Lawrence A, Wagey T, Zamzani F, Lovelock CE. Blue carbon: A new paradigm of mangrove conservation and management in Indonesia. Mar Policy. 2023;147:105388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105388
  35. 35. Manivanan R. Coastal wetland restoration in India. In: Coastal Wetlands. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 437–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56179-0_14
  36. 36. Segaran TC, Azra MN, Lananan F, Burlakovs J, Vincevica-Gaile Z, Rudovica V, et al. Mapping the link between climate change and mangrove forest: a global overview of the literature. Forests. 2023;14(2):421. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14020421
  37. 37. Alongi DM. Impacts of climate change on blue carbon stocks and fluxes in mangrove forests. Forests. 2022;13(2):149. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020149

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.