Abstract

Blue carbon refers to the carbon captured by oceans and coastal ecosystems. The carbon captured by living organisms in oceans is stored in the form of biomass and sediments. Blue carbon is considered to be a modern trend to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mitigate climate change. The aim was to understand the characteristics and nature of this ecosystem. Data on various parameters including sediment hydro chemical properties, vital nutrients and organic matter were determined across eight different sectors that were divided on the basis of age and density of mangrove forest. The study showed that sectors in the studied mangrove forest of El-Souda–West Island Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with older and denser trees gave more significant information on hydro chemical properties than sectors with younger trees. Weak relationship was found between the degree of alkalinity and the growth of mangroves. The distribution of dissolved oxygen values was irregular between the sectors. The results of vital nutrients showed that the highest values of nitrates were recorded in sector 7 and 8. Absence of organic pollution in the study area that was attributed to organic rich sediment that gets accumulated in the mangrove roots. In general the values of vital nutrients below the international limit. A strong relationship was observed between the organic content of the sediment (organic carbon oxidized, organic carbon, total, organic matter), and the density of mangroves. The study revealed the role of benthic organisms especially cancers in enriching the sediment organic matter beside the impact of the tide, and the nature of the soil, and the proximity and distance from the sea.

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