Special Issue "Mangrove Ecosystem Ecology, Conservation and Sustainability"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sahadev Sharma
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Interests: mangrove ecophysiology; application of remote sensing to study coastal habitats; coastal biogeochemical cycle; forest silviculture and climate change mitigation
Dr. Raghab Ray
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Chemical Oceanography, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan
Interests: biogeochemistry of shallow coastal ecosystems; carbon–nutrient–metal cycles
Dr. Rupesh K Bhomia
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for International Forestry Research, Bogor 16115, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Interests: blue carbon; carbon cycling in coastal wetlands; conservation of aquatic ecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mangrove ecosystems are intertidal forests that develop on warm-temperate, subtropical, and tropical coastlines across 123 countries, covering an area of ~150,000 km2. Mangroves provide several ecosystem services such as coastal protection from storm surges, sea level rise and erosion, regulating water quality and nutrient recycling, supporting fisheries, and mitigating impacts from climate change by carbon sequestration. Mangrove forests face threats of deforestation and degradation, mainly because of their conversion to aquaculture ponds, agriculture, and urban development. These anthropogenic activities result in loss of mangrove area cover and productivity due to climate change impacts like increasing temperature, erratic rainfall patterns, and sea level rise.

Therefore, proper scientific evaluation and understanding of mangrove ecology and physiology in light of the combined effects of anthropogenic and global climate change stressors is urgently needed. Equally important is to enhance existing knowledge on natural recovery/re-generation processes of mangroves, in addition to the science and practice of mangrove planting for realizing resilient and biologically diverse mangrove ecosystems. Furthermore, the realization of crucial linkages between local communities, governments, and other stakeholders could pave a way for protection and sustainable management of this important ecosystem. Other than important ecosystem services and carbon mitigation, mangroves offer incredible opportunities for climate change adaptations as a source of livelihoods, food security, and protection.

However, there are many challenges and open questions on how mangroves can best be managed sustainably to maintain their carbon mitigation benefits by preserving and growing blue carbon, as the pressures on these coastal ecosystems continue to rise.

Key areas of uncertainty and specific actions needed to address mangrove sustainability have started to gain attention and are being addressed at various regional and national levels, with an emphasis on research agendas to prepare a greenhouse gas offset protocol for coastal ecosystems restoration and management and action plans to guide protocol development. In the context of climate change, Nature-based solutions (NBSs) form a component of all approaches involving mitigation and adaptation strategies. Mangroves are unique since they offer both possibilities (adaptation and mitigation) in terms of interventions from coastal communities to the regional and national governments deciding appropriate polices. This Special Issue invites scientific research which will improve existing knowledge and enhance our understanding of mangrove ecosystems, thereby offering information that could be immediately useful and relevant to a large number of stakeholders.

References:

  1. Hamilton, S.E. and D.A. Friess, Global carbon stocks and potential emissions due to mangrove deforestation from 2000 to 2012. Nature Climate Change, 2018. 8(3): p. 240.
  2. Taillardat, P., D.A. Friess, and M. Lupascu, Mangrove blue carbon strategies for climate change mitigation are most effective at the national scale. Biology letters, 2018. 14(10): p. 20180251.
  3. McLeod E, Chmura GL, Bouillon S, Salm R, Björk M, Duarte CM, Lovelock CE, Schlesinger WH, Silliman BR(2011) A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2. Front Ecol Environ 9: 552–560
  4. Nellemann C, Corcoran E, Duarte CM, Valdés L, De Young C, Fonseca L, Grimsditch G (2009) Blue carbon: a rapid response assessment. United Nations Environment Programme, GRID-Arendal.
  5. Romañach, S. S., DeAngelis, D. L., Koh, H. L., Li, Y., Teh, S. Y., Raja Barizan, R. S., & Zhai, L. (2018). Conservation and restoration of mangroves: Global status, perspectives, and prognosis. Ocean & Coastal Management, 154, 72-82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.01.009
  6. Borges, R., Ferreira, A. C., & Lacerda, L. D. (2017). Systematic Planning and Ecosystem-Based Management as Strategies to Reconcile Mangrove Conservation with Resource Use. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4(353). doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00353
  7. Suman, D. O. (2019). Chapter 31 - Mangrove Management: Challenges and Guidelines. In G. M. E. Perillo, E. Wolanski, D. R. Cahoon, & C. S. Hopkinson (Eds.), Coastal Wetlands (pp. 1055-1079): Elsevier.
  8. de Lacerda, L. D., Borges, R., & Ferreira, A. C. (2019). Neotropical mangroves: Conservation and sustainable use in a scenario of global climate change. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 29(8), 1347-1364. doi:10.1002/aqc.3119
  9. Jeffrey Chow (2018) Mangrove management for climate change adaptation and sustainable development in coastal zones, Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 37:2, 139-156, DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2017.1339615
  10. Friess, D.A., Yando, E.S., Abuchahla, G.M., Adams, J.B., Cannicci, S., Canty, S.W., Cavanaugh, K.C., Connolly, R.M., Cormier, N., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. and Diele, K., 2020. Mangroves give cause for conservation optimism, for now. Current Biology, 30(4), pp.R153-R154.

Dr. Sahadev Sharma
Dr. Raghab Ray
Dr. Rupesh K Bhomia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • mangrove ecosystems
  • sustainability
  • conservation management
  • climate change mitigation
  • blue carbon
  • restoration
  • degradation and deforestation

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Local Drivers Associated to Temporal Spectral Response of Chlorophyll-a in Mangrove Leaves
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4636; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094636 - 21 Apr 2021
Viewed by 538
Abstract
The pigment content in leaves has commonly been used to characterize vegetation condition. However, few studies have assessed temporal changes of local biotic and abiotic factors on leaf pigments. Here, we evaluated the effect of local environmental variables and tree structural characteristics, in [...] Read more.
The pigment content in leaves has commonly been used to characterize vegetation condition. However, few studies have assessed temporal changes of local biotic and abiotic factors on leaf pigments. Here, we evaluated the effect of local environmental variables and tree structural characteristics, in the chlorophyll-a leaf concentration (Chl-a) associated with temporal change in two mangrove species. Rhizophora mangle (R. mangle) and Avicennia germinans (A. germinans) trees of a fringe mangrove forest (FMF) and lower basin mangrove forest (BMF) were visited over a period of one year, to obtain radiometric readings at leaf level to estimate Chl-a. Measurements on tree characteristics included diameter at breast height (DBH), basal area (BA), and maximum height (H). Environmental variables included soil interstitial water temperature (Ti), salinity (Si), and dissolved oxygen (Oi), flood level (fL), ambient temperature (Tamb), and relative humidity (Hrel). Generalized linear models and covariance analysis showed that the variation of Chl-a is mainly influenced by the species, the interaction between species and mangrove forest type, DBH, seasonality and its influence on the species, soil conditions, and fL. Studies to assess spatial and temporal change on mangrove forests using the spectral characteristics of the trees should also consider the temporal variation of leave chlorophyll-a concentration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mangrove Ecosystem Ecology, Conservation and Sustainability)
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