Abstract
The Philippines is rich in mangrove forests, containing 50% of the total mangrove species of the world. However, the vast mangrove areas of the country have declined to about half of its cover in the past century. In the 1970s, action was taken to protect the remaining mangrove forests under a government initiative, recognizing the ecological benefits mangrove forests can bring. Here, we examine two mangrove areas in the Philippines—Coron in Palawan and Balangiga-Lawaan in Eastern Samar over a 30-year period. Sets of Landsat images from 1987 to 2016 were classified and spatially analyzed using four landscape metrics. Additional analyses of the mangrove areas’ spatiotemporal dynamics were conducted. The impact of typhoon landfall on the mangrove areas was also analyzed in a qualitative manner. Spatiotemporal changes indicate that both the Coron and Balangiga-Lawaan mangrove forests, though declared as protected areas, are still suffering from mangrove area loss. Mangrove areal shrinkage and expansion can be attributed to both typhoon occurrence and management practices. Overall, our study reveals which mangrove forests need more responsive action, and provides a different perspective in understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of these mangrove areas.
Highlights
Mangroves are an assemblage of tropical and sub-tropical halophytic woody plants
This study analyzed two sub-regions of the Philippines with significant mangrove forests via change detection techniques for the period of 1987–2016. Both mangrove areas manifested areal extent changes where expansion and shrinkage were evident during the 30-year period
The landscape metrics have proven the better stability of the Coron mangroves since there were no significant fluctuations of the trends, confirming that the mangrove areas in this municipality are still in good conditions
Summary
Mangroves are an assemblage of tropical and sub-tropical halophytic (i.e., salt tolerant) woody plants. Economic development and climate change poses an eminent threat of destruction to many mangrove forests, monitoring of the remaining mangrove forest cover is more critical than ever Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges and typhoons can contribute to widespread destruction in many parts of the world. Different remote sensing tools and techniques can provide good estimates of the areal extent of mangrove forests and can observe changes by using spatiotemporal Landsat datasets. Our study intends to (1) investigate the long-term spatial characteristics of two typical mangrove areas in the Philippines—Coron in Palawan and Balangiga-Lawaan in Eastern Samar using remote sensing technology, and (2) investigate the possible reasons of these changes from the impacts of tropical cyclones in a qualitative manner
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.
