Mangrove Forests Among the Most Carbon - rich Forests in the World 09 May 2011 Photo : AP A fisherman walks through a destroyed mangrove forest in IndonesiaShare ThisDiggYahoo ! BuzzFacebookdel . icio . usStumbleUponBOB DOUGHTY : This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS , in VOA Special English . I ’ m Bob Doughty . FAITH LAPIDUS : And I ’ m Faith Lapidus . This week , we will tell how coastal forests help to fight rising temperatures in Earth ’ s atmosphere . We tell about efforts to clean up the highest mountain on Earth . And we tell about honors for three American scientists . ( MUSIC ) BOB DOUGHTY : A new report says mangrove forests store more planet - warming carbon dioxide than almost any other ecosystem on Earth . The report says loss of these forests is releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases in Earth ’ s atmosphere . Greenhouse gases trap warm air in the atmosphere . Most climate scientists believe the gases are responsible , at least in part , for climate change . Mangrove forests are found along coasts in tropical countries . The warm water often serves as a home for fish and other creatures . The plants and trees also help protect coastal areas from storm damage . FAITH LAPIDUS : The new report was published in the journal Nature Geoscience . Daniel Donato works with the United States Forest Service . He and his team studied tree mass , dead wood and soil carbon in twenty - five mangrove ecosystems in the Indian and Pacific Oceans . Mr . Donato says these areas are among the most carbon - rich forests in the world . He found that mangroves store about three to four times more carbon per hectare as temperate forests or even tropical rainforests . But Mr . Donato says most of the carbon is hidden . The carbon is found mainly in the soil and tree roots . BOB DOUGHTY : About one - third to one half of the world ’ s mangrove forests have been cut down in the past fifty years . Some of the forests were cut for wood or wood products . Others were lost to coastal development or aquaculture . Mangroves make up less than one percent of all tropical forests . Mr . Donato says the report should get the attention of policymakers . DANIEL DONATO : “ It shows mangroves are probably pretty good candidates for things like carbon - market trading to encourage sustainable forest management . ” FAITH LAPIDUS : Some activists say carbon markets could be a powerful force for protecting the environment . In such a market , industries can buy the right to produce carbon dioxide in exchange for protecting forests or taking other steps . Emily Pidgeon works for the group Conservation International . She says the value of the mangrove often is not clear to policymakers . EMILY PIDGEON : “ By suddenly having an actual mechanism to value these systems in dollars , it gives you a potentially very large new mechanism for countering the other financial and economic arguments . ” BOB DOUGHTY : Other groups are considering the economics of mangrove protection from the buyer ’ s side . They have urged Western supermarkets and other large buyers to only purchase farmed seafood that has little affect on mangrove loss . Emily Pidgeon says one way to help developing countries value mangroves is to see them as something that provides many services . Those services could include protecting the fisheries that many coastal communities depend on for food and jobs . For many communities , carbon storage is just the latest service they may see mangroves providing . ( MUSIC ) APClouds above Mount Everest FAITH LAPIDUS : There it stands … on the border of Nepal and Tibet … eight thousand eight hundred fifty meters high . Some natives call it Chomolungma , or “ Goddess Mother of the World . ” But most people know it as Mount Everest , the highest mountain on earth . The sky near the top is a beautiful blue color . New snow lies deep and white . Everything is clear and cold and clean . Or , at least , it once was clean . That was before people began to climb the mountain and leave behind thousands of kilograms of trash ! But help is on the way . Two mountain climbers from Nepal are leading a team that hopes to remove much of the trash . BOB DOUGHTY : What kind of things have been left up there ? The list is long . There are temporary shelters , ropes , oxygen bottles , clothing , sleeping bags , food … and bodies ! Over two hundred people have died trying to climb Mount Everest . Many of their bodies are still there , completely frozen . This all started in nineteen twenty - one . British climbers were the first to try to reach the place called “ the top of the world . ” They quickly discovered that going up was hard work . But getting back down safely was even more difficult . The first problem is the weather . It can change quickly . The temperature can quickly drop to forty degrees below zero Celsius . Winds can reach hurricane speed . Fingers and toes freeze , even if they are covered in thick , protective material . FAITH LAPIDUS : The next big worry is the lack of oxygen in the air . The higher a climber goes , the thinner the air . Areas near the top of the mountain have only about thirty percent of the oxygen found at sea level . What climbers have learned is that they must carry a lot of oxygen bottles and other supplies up the mountain if they ever hope to reach the top . But because of the cold weather and lack of oxygen , many climbers become very sick . Getting off the mountain alive is hard enough . Cleaning up all the trash on the way down is nearly impossible . APNepalese mountaineer Apa Sherpa BOB DOUGHTY : What about all those bodies left on Mt . Everest ? Why are they still there ? Experts say it is because they are too heavy to bring down . Climbers are told that , if they get sick high on the mountain , or fall and break a bone , they should not expect help . Many climbers have become so tired they have sat down to rest and never gotten up . So Apa Sherpa , Dawa Steven Sherpa , and their team have decided to clean up the mountain . They will be paid a small amount for each kilogram of objects they bring down . But the team ’ s leaders say the money is not important . They want to do this for their country , and the world . FAITH LAPIDUS : There have been three other attempts in recent years to clean Mount Everest . But this is the first attempt at removing trash from the “ Death Zone . ” That is the level above eight thousand meters . Up there , the thin air and cold can kill a person very quickly . Apa Sherpa knows where to find much of the trash on Mount Everest . He has climbed to the top a record twenty times since nineteen ninety . ( MUSIC ) BOB DOUGHTY : Finally , the National Science Foundation will honor three leading scientists at a dinner tonight in Washington , DC . The three are being recognized for their success in science , engineering and technology . The National Science Foundation , or NSF , is an independent agency of the federal government . It supports research and education in all areas of science and engineering . Casey Dunn is a biologist at Brown University in Rhode Island . He is being honored for his work on animal evolution and the origins of biological complexity . His investigations have involved deep - sea creatures called siphonophores . The National Science Foundation says his work has helped increase understanding about how evolution affects the diversity of life . Casey Dunn will receive the Alan T . Waterman Award . It is the NSF ’ s highest honor for scientists thirty five years old or younger . He will also receive five hundred thousand dollars over three years to help finance his research . FAITH LAPIDUS : Another honoree is the President of the National Academy of Engineering , Charles Vest . He will receive the Vannevar Bush Award for his leadership in science and technology . Mr . Vest served as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from nineteen ninety until two thousand four . He has also served as a director of the chemical company Dupont and of IBM . And he served on several federal committees . BOB DOUGHTY : The NSF also plans to present its Public Service Award to Moira Gunn . She was the first woman to earn a PhD in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana . She currently serves as the managing director of Biotechnology Programs at the University of San Francisco . Ms . Dunn is being recognized for increasing public understanding of science and engineering . In nineteen ninety - three , she created the radio program Tech Nation . The program examines the effect of science and technology on our everyday lives . The National Science Foundation will also present a second Public Service Award Tuesday night . It is going to the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco . ( MUSIC ) FAITH LAPIDUS : This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake , Jim Tedder and June Simms , who was our producer . I ’ m Faith Lapidus . BOB DOUGHTY : And I ’ m Bob Doughty . Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America .