Mangroves could be key ecosystems in strategies addressing the mitigation of climate changes through carbon storage. However, little is known regarding the carbon stocks of these ecosystems, particularly below-ground. This study was carried out in the mangrove forests of Sofala Bay, Central Mozambique, with the aim of quantifying carbon stocks of live and dead plant and soil components. The methods followed the procedures developed by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) for mangrove forests. In this study, we developed a general allometric equation to estimate individual tree biomass and soil carbon content (up to 100 cm depth). We estimated the carbon in the whole mangrove ecosystem of Sofala Bay, including dead trees, wood debris, herbaceous, pneumatophores, litter and soil. The general allometric equation for live trees derived was [Above-ground tree dry weight (kg) = 3.254 × exp(0.065 × DBH)], root mean square error (RMSE = 4.244), and coefficient of determination (R² = 0.89). The average total carbon storage of Sofala Bay mangrove was 218.5 Mg·ha⁻¹, of which around 73% are stored in the soil. Mangrove conservation has the potential for REDD+ programs, especially in regions like Mozambique, which contains extensive mangrove areas with high deforestation and degradation rates.

Mangrove ecosystems are threatened by a variety of anthropogenic changes, including climate change. The main aim of this research is to quantify the spatial variation in the different mangrove carbon stocks, aboveground carbon (AGC), belowground carbon (BGC), and soil carbon (SOC), under future climate scenarios. Additionally, we sought to identify the magnitude of sea-level rise (SLR) exposure with the view of identifying the mangrove regions most likely to face elevated inundation. Different representative concentration pathways (RCPs) ranging from the most optimistic (RCP 2.6) to medium emissions (RCP 4.5) and the most pessimistic (RCP 8.5) were considered for 2070. We used the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW), a biogeographical classification of coastal ecosystems, to quantify the variation in future carbon stocks at a regional scale and identify areas of potential carbon stock losses and gains. Here, we showed that the mangroves of Central and Western Indo-Pacific islands (Andamans, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu), the west African coast, and northeastern South America will be the worst hit and are projected to affect all three carbon stocks under all future scenarios. For instance, the Andaman ecoregion is projected to have an 11–25% decline in SOC accumulation, while the Western Indo-Pacific realm is projected to undergo the sharpest declines, ranging from 10% to 12% under all three scenarios. Examples of these areas are those in Amazonia and the eastern part of South Asia (such as in the Northern Bay of Bengal ecoregion). Based on these findings, conservation management of mangroves can be conducted.

Aim: In Africa, reintroduction of wild animal species to conservation areas is a common practice, for the recovery or restoration of populations. Effective monitoring of reintroduced species requires understanding of basic ecological requirements such as habitat selection of these species in the new environment. Therefore, the present study investigated the habitat selection of zebra and wildebeest following their reintroduction into Maputo Special Reserve, south Mozambique, and we use binary logistic analyses to investigate the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors in determining the habitat use. Location: Maputo Special Reserve, south Mozambique. Methods: We conducted the study from July 2016 to June 2017. The data were collected by direct observation, driving the vehicle along the reserve's roads that covered the vegetation communities where zebras and wildebeest are known to commonly occur. Habitat selection was calculated using selection indices (Manly's alpha), and binary logistic analyses were used to investigate the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors in determining the habitat use. Results: The arboreal savanna was the preferred habitat by both herbivore species. Habitat use of zebra appeared to be strongly determined by characteristics such as high grass cover, high grass greenness, and distance to water, while the habitat use by wildebeest, was strongly affected by grass height. Main conclusions: Both zebra and wildebeest prefer arboreal savanna, forage selection likely drove preference of this habitat. Greater grass cover and greater percentage greenness of the grass both significantly increased the odds of zebra use of habitat, whereas the odds of use decreased with increases in distance to water, meaning an opportunity to ingest large amounts of grass biomass with higher quality, and this opportunity decreases with increasing in distance to water. Grass height was in the highest‐ranking model predicting habitat use by wildebeest, and during the dry season the use of habitat increased with increasing grass height, suggesting that selecting areas with tall grasses by wildebeest equated to choosing areas with higher grass quantity, as the food intake rate increases with grass height.

The reintroduction of wild animal species into conservations areas is widely used to restore populations of species endangered with extinction. The assessment of the quality of the diet and the nutritional status of the animals is crucial to the success of herbivore reintroduction programs, given that adequate nutrition is essential to ensure the survival and fertility of ungulates. Given this, the present study investigated the quality of the diet and nutritional status of Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchelli, Smuts 1832) and blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus, Burchell 1823) reintroduced into Maputo Special Reserve (MSR), in southern Mozambique. The study was conducted between July 2016 and June 2017, and the data were collected through direct observation, by driving a vehicle along the roads within the reserve that pass through the vegetation cover where zebra and wildebeest are known to occur most frequently. The composition of the diet and specific feature of the grass grazed by the two species, such as greenness (an indication of food quality) were assessed. Crude fecal protein and phosphorus were determined to evaluate the nutritional status of the two herbivore species. Both herbivores were pure grazers, consuming a diet composed entirely (100%) of grass. Aristida barbicollis was the principal component of the diets of both zebra and wildebeest and both species grazed almost entirely on green grass (91–100% of greenness). However, wildebeest consumed significantly more green grass (which has a better nutrient content) than zebra, which tolerated a considerably larger proportion of browner grass in both seasons. The levels of crude protein and phosphorus in the zebra and wildebeest fecal samples were not below threshold of nutritional stress recommended for large southern African herbivores, which indicates that neither the zebra nor the wildebeest populations in MSR are undernourished at the present time and that the quality of the forage found in the study area is not a factor limiting the persistence of the reintroduced populations of either species.