Abstract CO2 is the most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas released in the environment and is considered one of the main drivers of global warming and ensuing climate change. Biological carbon sequestration mitigates CO2 through ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands. Mangrove forests, being highly carbon-dense ecosystems, sequester significant carbon in their biomass and soils. This study aims at evaluating the carbon storage potential of R.mucronatanatural and planted forests in Mauritius and the effect of tidal inundation and mineral availability.
Plant height and diameter at breast height were measured in situ with the GLOBE Observer application and a measuring tape, respectively. Rate of canopy coverage over the past twenty years was assessed using historical Landsat images available on Google Earth Pro. Allometric equations were used to estimate the above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB) of R.mucronata. Total organic carbon (TOC) and all essential nutrients for plant growth were analysed using standard methods. 
Our findings show that in both natural and planted forests, the more inundated zones were first established. However, tree and sapling density and AGB were negatively correlated with sodium (r = -0.830; -0.880, respectively). Positive correlations between AGB and NO3-N, NH4-N, phosphate, and manganese suggest that these minerals were limiting factors. Nevertheless, the combination of forest age and salinity was found to play key roles on the AGB and TOC, which is linked to materials originating from the mangroves. It is noteworthy that the Ferney forest with a relatively lower salinity (5-15 ppt) and the only forest that had already reached a steady state in 2010, had a relatively much higher AGB (326.2±26.3 t ha-1) than the global average for R.mucronata (94.8 t ha-1), let alone Rhizophora spp. (281 t ha-1). The TOC registered at Ferney (47.34%) was also higher than the global values reported (2.00±2.20% to 40.00±2.20%)
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