RESEARCH PAPER Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment Shing Yip Lee 1 *, Jurgene H. Primavera 2,3 , Farid Dahdouh-Guebas 4 , Karen McKee 5 , Jared O. Bosire 6 , Stefano Cannicci 7 , Karen Diele 8 , Francois Fromard 9 , Nico Koedam 10 , Cyril Marchand 11 , Irving Mendelssohn 12 , Nibedita Mukherjee 4 and Sydne Record 13 1 Australian Rivers Institute and School of Environment, Griffith University, Southport, Gold Coast, Qld 4222, Australia, 2 Zoological Society of London, La Paz, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines, 3 SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Tigbauan, Iloilo 5021, Philippines, 4 Laboratory of Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B1050 Brussels, Belgium, 5 Scientist Emeritus (retired), US Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, LA 70506, USA, 6 Kenyan Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa, Kenya, 7 Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, 8 School of Life, Sport and Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 9 Laboratory of Functional Ecology and Environment, CNRS, EcoLab, 31062 Toulouse, France, 10 Plant Biology and Nature Management, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B1050 Brussels, Belgium, 11 Institute of Research for Development, Noumea, New Caledonia, 12 Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA, 13 Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA 01366, USA ABSTRACT Aim To reassess the capacity of mangroves for ecosystem services in the light of recent data. Location Global mangrove ecosystems. Methods We review four long-standing roles of mangroves: (1) carbon dynamics – export or sink; (2) nursery role; (3) shoreline protection; (4) land-building capacity. The origins of pertinent hypotheses, current understanding and gaps in our knowledge are highlighted with reference to biogeographic, geographic and socio-economic influences. Results The role of mangroves as C sinks needs to be evaluated for a wide range of biogeographic regions and forest conditions. Mangrove C assimilation may be under-estimated because of flawed methodology and scanty data on key compo- nents of C dynamics. Peri-urban mangroves may be manipulated to provide local offsets for C emission. The nursery function of mangroves is not ubiquitous but varies with spatio-temporal accessibility. Connectivity and complementarity of mangroves and adjacent habitats enhance their nursery function through trophic relay and ontogenetic migrations. The effectiveness of mangroves for coastal protection depends on factors at landscape/geomorphic to community scales and local/species scales. Shifts in species due to climate change, forest degradation and loss of habitat connectivity may reduce the protective capacity of mangroves. Early views of mangroves as land builders (especially lateral expansion) were question- able. Evidence now indicates that mangroves, once established, directly influence vertical land development by enhancing sedimentation and/or by direct organic contributions to soil volume (peat formation) in some settings. Main conclusions Knowledge of thresholds, spatio-temporal scaling and vari- ability due to geographic, biogeographic and socio-economic settings will improve the management of mangrove ecosystem services. Many drivers respond to global trends in climate change and local changes such as urbanization. While mangroves have traditionally been managed for subsistence, future governance models must involve partnerships between local custodians of mangroves and offsite benefi- ciaries of the services. Keywords Carbon dynamics, ecosystem services, land building, management, mangroves, nursery function, shoreline protection. *Correspondence: Shing Yip Lee, Australian Rivers Institute and School of Environment, Griffith University Gold Coast, Southport, Qld 4222, Australia. E-mail: joe.lee@griffith.edu.au Global Ecology and Biogeography, (Global Ecol. Biogeogr.) (2014) © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd DOI: 10.1111/geb.12155 http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/geb 1