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Item type:Publication, Access status: Open Access , Spatial and landscape-scale variability in global mangrove soil carbon estimates(Scientific Reports, 2026-05-09) Carruthers, Lucy; Lagomasino, David; Hamilton, StuartAccurate global mangrove soil carbon estimates are essential, considering the critical role mangroves play in the coastal carbon cycle. However, current global estimates vary widely, ranging from 2.26 to 10.2 Pg C. Large uncertainties in carbon stocks can be challenging for effective policymaking and inaccurately estimate climate mitigation potential. Here, we identify factors driving spatial and landscape variability by comparing five global mangrove soil carbon stock models. Using the ensemble mean, we generate a global soil carbon stock estimate of 4.13 ± 0.89 Pg C (to 1 m depth). Significant (P < 0.001) spatial variability occurred in Africa and Asia, with high standard deviation between models and limited data representation. High standard deviation occurred in specific geomorphic settings, including terrigenous, deltaic, carbonate and open coasts, within microtidal sites and regions of low and high species diversity. Our findings can help guide future research and reduce uncertainties in carbon stock estimates.Item type:Publication, Access status: Open Access , A Global Database to Monitor Annual Mangrove Forest Change, 2000-2020(International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 2024-11-13) Hamilton, Stuart; Presotto, AndreaThis manuscript presents a new global database that tracks annual global mangrove forest change rates since 2000. By synthesizing several remotely sensed databases such as Mangrove Forests of the World, Global Mangrove Watch, and High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Mangrove Forest Cover Change, this database provides mangrove forest change information at approximately 30 m annually and globally. It is a consistent and systematic mangrove forest change database across all years. Between 2000 and 2020, mangrove forests lost 3.42% of their original global area, shrinking from approximately 139,716 km2 in 2000 to 134,383 km2 in 2020, resulting in an annual loss rate of 0.17%. As of 2020, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria, and Malaysia are the top five mangrove-holding countries, containing slightly over 50% of the global mangrove holdings. Indonesia alone contains 22% of global mangrove forests.Item type:Person, Item type:Person, Item type:Publication, Access status: Open Access , Shoreline classification maps and ground truth data for the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina(Scientific Data, 2024-01-22) Sirianni, Hannah; Richter, Jessica; Sirianni, Matthew; Pettyjohn, SarahEstuaries provide essential ecosystem services and economic value but are facing widespread degradation due to changing anthropogenic and climatic factors. In North Carolina, coastal structures, like bulkheads and riprap, are widely used by property owners throughout the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary to stop erosion and reclaim lost land following storm events. While coastal development is tightly governed, limited historical and no up-to-date data report on the spatial distribution of coastal structures throughout the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary. Here we describe the development of a dataset that classifies and catalogues 67 km of shoreline type along the Neuse River Estuary (NRE), a large tributary of the Albemarle-Pamlico. We used available LiDAR digital elevation models (DEMs), aerial imagery, and a ground truthing field campaign to determine shoreline type present along the NRE as of 2020. We validated these results using an intensive manual editing procedure that comparatively examines DEMs, LiDAR derived slope, aerial imagery, and ground truth photography of the shoreline. This dataset is available for public download.
