Abstract
AbstractAimTo provide high‐resolution local, regional, national and global estimates of annual mangrove forest area from 2000 through to 2012 with the goal of driving mangrove research questions pertaining to biodiversity, carbon stocks, climate change, functionality, food security, livelihoods, fisheries support and conservation that have been impeded until now by a lack of suitable data.LocationGlobal, covering 99% of all mangrove forests.MethodsWe synthesized the Global Forest Change database, the Terrestrial Ecosystems of the World database and the Mangrove Forests of the World database to extract mangrove forest cover at high spatial and temporal resolutions. We then used the new database to monitor mangrove cover at the global, national and protected area scales.ResultsCountries showing relatively high amounts of mangrove loss include Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Guatemala. Indonesia remains by far the largest mangrove‐holding nation, containing between 26% and 29% of the global mangrove inventory with a deforestation rate of between 0.26% and 0.66% per year. We have made our new database, CGMFC‐21, freely available.Main conclusionsGlobal mangrove deforestation continues but at a much reduced rate of between 0.16% and 0.39% per year. Southeast Asia is a region of concern with mangrove deforestation rates between 3.58% and 8.08%, this in a region containing half of the entire global mangrove forest inventory. The global mangrove deforestation pattern from 2000 to 2012 is one of decreasing rates of deforestation, with many nations essentially stable, with the exception of the largest mangrove‐holding region of Southeast Asia. We provide a standardized spatial dataset that monitors mangrove deforestation globally at high spatio‐temporal resolutions. These data can be used to drive the mangrove research agenda, particularly as it pertains to monitoring of mangrove carbon stocks and the establishment of baseline local mangrove forest inventories required for payment for ecosystem service initiatives.
Highlights
A systematic global mangrove database with high spatiotemporal resolution is lacking
These data can be used to drive the mangrove research agenda, as it pertains to monitoring of mangrove carbon stocks and the establishment of baseline local mangrove forest inventories required for payment for ecosystem service initiatives
Our new estimate of mangrove area, within the area identified by Mangrove Forests of the Word (MFW), revised for percentage cover as opposed to presence or absence, for the year 2000 is 83,495 km2 (Appendix S3)
Summary
A systematic global mangrove database with high spatiotemporal resolution is lacking. Many of the data in these reports are single estimates of national mangrove cover that propagate through each subsequent report and across reports Such reports have proven important to the mangrove research community in depicting historical mangrove cover and loss but do not meet the requirements of the current mangrove research agenda, which requires a global mangrove database with high spatiotemporal granularity. When conducting a literature search of historical estimates of mangrove cover in Malaysia, Friess & Webb (2011) noted that the mangrove data estimates were highly variable, resulting in high amounts of uncertainty when compiling trends of mangrove loss over time. The three major issues causing this uncertainty are stated as being: a lack of reporting of the actual method of calculating mangrove cover, in the grey literature in which mangrove cover analyses often reside; a lack of traceability of data points that comprise a study; and problematic data assumptions often due to sampling of mangroves or assumptions on the unverifiable temporal axis of a study (Friess & Webb, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
