Mangrove Response to Land Use Change in Estuaries along the Semiarid Coast of Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Godoy, M.D.P.; Meireles, A.J.A., and Lacerda, L.D., 2018. Mangrove response to land use change in estuaries along the semiarid coast of Ceara, Brazil. Mangroves cover an estimated area of approximately 12 to 20 million ha worldwide and serve as protection for the coastline from erosion and flooding. Nearly 70 mangrove species are considered endangered and could disappear in the next decade, which would have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities because of their ecological and economic importance. The annual rate of disappearance of coastal ecosystems is four times greater than the rate of the disappearance of rain forests. Mangroves suffer great pressure from the rapid conversion of forests into agricultural and urban areas, and, in these scenarios, climate change promotes specific pressures on mangroves and may increase the effects of anthropogenic activities. The focus of this study was to map the changes in mangrove areas in six river estuaries in Ceara, n...