The second source was published data of ecosystem C storage. Ecosystem C storage includes vegetation C (aboveground and root C), ground layer C (i.e. C in mangrove litter and seedlings), and soil C. We searched data of mangrove forest in China using “China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database” and “Google Scholar Database” up to the end of 2012. The third source was field data we collected in this study.
2.2. Field sampling and laboratory analysis