Abstract
Mangroves are adapted to coastal processes; however, mangrove species showed various responses to estuarian environments, leading to different structural characteristics at accretion and erosion areas. The species composition, structure and regeneration of mangrove forests were investigated to provide insight into mangrove forest development in response to shoreline accretion and erosion processes. The species composition and stand structure of mangrove forests were measured along the distance from the shoreline at accretion and erosion sites in Ca Mau, Vietnam. The hierarchical clustering of grouped stands based on species composition and tree size distribution was conducted. Grouped mangrove stands showed landward changes in species composition and stand structure from the shoreline (p < 0.05), reflecting the timescale of accretion or erosion at both accretion and erosion sites. Stand development patterns differed between accretion and erosion sites, and Avicennia alba and Rhizophora apiculata dominated seaward plots at accretion and erosion sites, respectively. Newer accredited sites were dominated by A. alba. Mangrove stands developed from dense A. alba dominant to R. apiculata dominant stands with increasing tree size at accretion sites. There were more species-colonized sites with a higher erosion rate or that were more recently eroded, implying that timescale of erosion and erosion rate affected species composition and regeneration on erosion sites. Accretion and erosion affected stand development of mangroves differently, implying that conservation and restoration strategies should be applied differently to accretion and erosion sites.
Highlights
Mangrove forests are a representative estuarine ecosystem and are distributed in the inter-tidal region of approximately 140,000 km2 in the tropics and subtropics [1]
This study aims to understand the structural development of mangrove forests in response to different levels of coastal erosion and accretion processes in Ca Mau, belonging to the Mekong River
Species composition and stand structure differed between accretion and erosion sites
Summary
Mangrove forests are a representative estuarine ecosystem and are distributed in the inter-tidal region of approximately 140,000 km in the tropics and subtropics [1]. Mangrove ecosystems are responsive to estuarial processes such as drainage, channelization, siltation, hurricanes, and thermal loading, which are related to a mangrove’s tolerance to flood, salinity, and temperature. Mangroves are naturally adapted to ordinary estuarine processes [4], whereas they are sensitive to environmental changes caused by disturbances [5,6]. Numerous studies suggest that the vulnerability of mangroves during growth and succession processes can be used as a principle indicator of coastal disturbances [7]. Accretion and erosion are typical geomorphological processes in coastal estuaries and are regulated by means of sediment exchanges. Suspended sediment with different particle sizes is Forests 2020, 11, 615; doi:10.3390/f11060615 www.mdpi.com/journal/forests
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