Mangroves & remote sensing – a perfect match!

By Ruben Van De Kerchove 09 October 2017

Mangroves are somewhat strange, exotic ecosystems, but they are crucial to our planet. Monitoring mangroves is therefore essential in understanding climate change. Remote sensing is the perfect way not to get stuck in the mud or be eaten by crocodiles. I’ll explain you why.

The essential role of mangroves

Mangroves are often associated with tropical paradises or Robinson Crusoe islands. They are also of paramount importance for each of us. In fact, mangrove forests provide numerous ecosystem services that contribute to human wellbeing:

  • protection from storms and sea level rise
  • prevention of shoreline erosion
  • regulation of coastal water quality
  • provision of habitat for fisheries and endangered marine species
  • food security
Mangroves also store so-called "blue" carbon from the atmosphere and oceans and so they are an essential piece of the solution to global climate change.


mangrove_deforestation_landsat_v2.gif
Landsat time series showing deforestation and regeneration  in a mangrove forest in Malaysia.


A THREATENED TROPICAL ECOSYSTEM

But mangroves are also one of the most threatened tropical ecosystems in the world.  More than 35% of the world’s mangroves has disappeared over the last years and it is continuing to do so at an alarming rate. It has been shown that mangrove deforestation generates around 10% of CO2 emissions from deforestation globally, although they account for just 0.7% of tropical forest area.
So we need to monitor the remaining mangrove forests using reliable and current information on the extent and state of mangroves to ensure their sustainable management.



Towards sustainable mangrove management

VITO remote sensing helps in quantifying changes and losses in mangrove cover using optical and RADAR remote sensing imagery. This makes changes in species composition, structure and biomass of mangroves assessment possible. These changes can be tracked back to the 70’s, using historic Landsat satellite data. RADAR can be used to measure the above ground biomass of mangroves and mangrove height. By combining  this information, a detailed description of the state of mangroves is provided which can be used in achieving a sustainable mangrove management

Visit our website to find out more 
about remote sensing for vegetation, land use and biodiversity.


mangrove_blog.png
Series of optical  and radar satellite images  for mangrove management
© Landsat-USGS; Sentinel-ESA, Worldview: Digital Globe, Tandem-X Airbus, Sentinel-1: ESA, ALOS2-PALSAR-2 JAXA
Like this article? Share it on
Ruben Van De Kerchove
An article by
Ruben Van De Kerchove
Team Leader Vegetation
More info about Ruben Van De Kerchove
Share

Related posts

Flexible habitat mapping for biodiversity and ecosystem management
  • Biodiversity ,
  • ecosystem ,
  • Natural Capital Accounting ,
  • Habitat Mapping

Flexible habitat mapping for biodiversity and ecosystem management

By Lori Giagnacovo 17.07.2024

With the recent implementation of the Nature Restoration Law and the ongoing UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, accurate habitat mapping has never been..

Lees meer
New INCA tool to support ecosystem accounting in Europe
  • Biodiversity ,
  • ecosystem ,
  • NCA ,
  • Natural Capital Accounting ,
  • Ecosystem services ,
  • INCA

New INCA tool to support ecosystem accounting in Europe

By Bruno Smets 17.05.2023

Ecosystem Accounts measure the stock and its changes of our natural capital and the services it provides to the society and our economy. Ecosystem..

Lees meer
WorldCover taking it to the next level
  • Biodiversity ,
  • Sentinel ,
  • land cover ,
  • global land cover ,
  • worldcover

WorldCover taking it to the next level

By Ruben Van De Kerchove 28.10.2022
One year after the release of the WorldCover 2020 map, i.e. the first global land cover product at 10 m resolution based on both Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2..
Lees meer