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Besides protecting shorelines from extreme weather and providing fish a safe place to breed, mangroves could play a big role in trapping climate-changing carbon emissions, something that has so far been largely overlooked, they said. As mangroves are cleared at a rate three to five times faster than other forests, according to UNEP estimates, those losses are particularly felt in developing countries where most mangroves are located, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Senegal, West Bengal, Vietnam and Sumatra. Like other plants, mangroves take carbon dioxide from the air as they photosynthesize. They use this carbon dioxide to produce more leaves. As a result, this carbon gets locked in the leaves instead of the air. This is why plant communities like forests and grasslands are called “carbon sinks". As leaves fall from trees, they decompose and the trapped carbon slowly drains back into the atmosphere. Mangrove leaves drop into the water. Lower oxygen levels in that water means that leaves decay more slowly than they would in air. The leaves also serve as a primary food source for a variety of animals like worms, shrimp, fish and crabs. These animals transport that carbon to deeper water. Deeper still if they are eaten by larger animals. When they die, they sink to the bottom where their carbon remains trapped indefinitely.