  Within a GIS environment, we combine field measures of mangrove diameter,
mangrove species distribution, and mangrove density with remotely sensed
measures of mangrove location and mangrove canopy cover to estimate the
mangrove carbon holdings of northern Ecuador. We find that the four northern
estuaries of Ecuador contain approximately 7,742,999 t (plus or minus 15.47
percent) of standing carbon. Of particular high carbon holdings are the
Rhizophora mangle dominated mangrove stands found in-and-around the
Cayapas-Mataje Ecological Reserve in northern Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador and
certain stands of Rhizophora mangle in-and-around the Isla Corazon y Fragata
Wildlife Refuge in central Manabi Province, Ecuador. Our field driven mangrove
carbon estimate is higher than all but one of the comparison models evaluated.
We find that basic latitudinal mangrove carbon models performed at least as
well, if not better, than the more complex species based allometric models in
predicting standing carbon levels. In addition, we find that improved results
occur when multiple models are combined as opposed to relying any one single
model for mangrove carbon estimates. The high level of carbon contained in
these mangrove forests, combined with the future atmospheric carbon
sequestration potential they offer, makes it a necessity that they are included
in any future payment for ecosystem services strategy aimed at utilizing forest
systems to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate predicted CO2 driven temperature
increases.
