Landscape-Scale Analysis of Wetland Sediment Deposition from Four Tropical Cyclone Events

Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike deposited large quantities of sediment on coastal wetlands after making landfall in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We sampled sediments deposited on the wetland surface throughout the entire Louisiana and Texas depositional surfaces of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and the Louisiana portion of Hurricane Ike. We used spatial interpolation to model the total amount and spatial distribution of inorganic sediment deposition from each storm. The sediment deposition on coastal wetlands was an estimated 68, 48, and 21 million metric tons from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav, respectively. The spatial distribution decreased in a similar manner with distance from the coast for all hurricanes, but the relationship with distance from the storm track was more variable between events. The southeast-facing Breton Sound estuary had significant storm-derived sediment deposition west of the storm track, whereas sediment deposition along the south-facing coastline occurred primarily east of the storm track. Sediment organic content, bulk density, and grain size also decreased significantly with distance from the coast, but were also more variable with respect to distance from the track. On average, eighty percent of the mineral deposition occurred within 20 km from the coast, and 58% was within 50 km of the track. These results highlight an important link between tropical cyclone events and coastal wetland sedimentation, and are useful in identifying a more complete sediment budget for coastal wetland soils.     

Seeking shelter from the storm: Conservation and management of imperiled species in a changing climate

Climate change is anticipated to exacerbate the extinction risk of species whose persistence is already compromised by habitat loss, invasive species, disease, or other stressors. In coastal areas of the southeastern United States (USA), many imperiled vertebrates are vulnerable to hurricanes, which climate models predict to become more severe in the 21st century. Despite this escalating threat, explicit adaptation strategies that address hurricane threats, in particular, and climate change more generally, are largely underrepresented in recovery planning and implementation. We provide a basis for stronger emphasis on strategic planning for imperiled species facing the increasing threat of catastrophic hurricanes. Our reasoning comes from observations of short‐term environmental and biological impacts of Hurricane Michael, which impacted the Gulf Coast of the southeastern USA in October 2018. During this storm, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, located along the northern Gulf of Mexico's coast in the panhandle region of Florida, received storm surge that was 3.0–3.6 m (NAVD88) above sea level. Storm surge pushed sea water into some ephemeral freshwater ponds used for breeding by the federally threatened frosted flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum). After the storm, specific conductance across all ponds measured varied from 80 to 23,100 µS/cm, compared to 75 to 445 µS/cm in spring 2018. For 17 overwashed wetlands that were measured in both spring and fall 2018, posthurricane conductance observations were, on average, more than 90 times higher than in the previous spring, setting the stage for varying population responses across this coastal landscape. Importantly, we found live individual flatwoods salamanders at both overwashed and non‐overwashed sites, although we cannot yet assess the demographic consequences of this storm. We outline actions that could be incorporated into climate adaptation strategies and recovery planning for imperiled species, like A. cingulatum, that are associated with freshwater coastal wetlands in hurricane‐prone regions.     

Coastal dynamics and wetlands stability. The Ebro delta case

Coastal wetland stability and structure can be significantly affected by littoral processes when they are close to the shoreline. Thus, under certain conditions, the combination of shoreline dynamics and direct wave action during storms can influence the stability of marshes and vegetation community composition. This interaction between littoral dynamics and coastal wetlands is illustrated by analysing processes taking place in the Buda Island (Ebro delta, NW Spain), where a coastal lagoon very close to a retreating shoreline exists. Two main time scales have been found to be relevant for interaction of coastal processes with ecosystem dynamics, the decadal and episodic scales. The decadal scale determines the average trend in beach width and directly controls the potential loss of wetland surface. The episodic scale is linked to the occurrence of wave and storm surge events and it determines a pulsing stress in the ecosystem through flooding, being key parameters to determine their direct influence the intensity and repetition of these events.     

近30年中国滨海滩涂湿地变化及其驱动力

随着人类活动影响的不断加剧,滨海湿地正面临着退化的威胁。尤其是近三十年来,中国东部沿海地区经济发展迅速,中国滨海湿地在时空格局等方面发生了巨大改变。以Google Earth Pro(GEP)s遥感影像为数据源,基于Google Earth Engine(GEE)平台和随机森林分类方法,解译了1990—2020年中国滨海地区的遥感影像,提取不同年份滩涂湿地面积,分析了过去30年间滨海滩涂湿地空间分布变化,从自然原因和政策变化两个方面探讨了中国滨海滩涂湿地时空格局变化的驱动机制。研究表明,中国滨海滩涂湿地呈现总体减少的趋势,总面积减少了42.98%,其中光滩面积减少了46.30%,盐沼面积增加了4.95%。不同省份滩涂湿地面积变化总体趋势与全国一致,与国家政策紧密联系;但不同年份各省份因发展需求和压力不同,滩涂湿地的变化的进程有一定差异。泥沙沉积和水动力条件的变化是滩涂湿地变化的主要自然因素,方针政策的贯彻执行是滩涂湿地变化的重要人为因素,通过出台严格合理管控政策可以促进中国滨海滩涂湿地可持续发展。     

Linking responses of native and invasive plants to hurricane disturbances: implications for coastal plant community structure

Hurricane disturbances produce significant changes in forest microclimates, creating opportunities for seedling regeneration of native and invasive plant species alike. However, there is limited information on how changes in microclimates and pre-existing forest conditions affect native and invasive plants responses to hurricane disturbances. In this manipulative study, we examined the responses of three common shrub/small stature tree species, two of which are native to the coastal region of the southeastern USA (Baccharis halimifolia and Morella cerifera) and one that is invasive (Triadica sebifera), to two key components of hurricane disturbance (canopy damage and saline storm surge). In a greenhouse, we grew seedlings of these species under a range of shade levels that mimicked pre-and post-hurricane canopy conditions for wet pine forest and mixed hardwood forest, two forest communities common in coastal areas of the southeastern USA. Seedlings were subjected to saline storm surges equivalent to full strength sea water for 3 days. Seedling responses (mortality and growth) to the treatments were monitored for 16 months. All species benefitted from higher canopy openness. Storm surge effects were short-lived and seedlings readily recovered under high light conditions. The storm surge had stronger negative effects on survival and growth of all species when coupled with high shade, suggesting storm surge has greater negative impacts on seedlings where hurricane winds cause minimal or no canopy damage. The invasive T. sebifera was by far more shade tolerant than the natives. Survival of T. sebifera seedlings under highly shaded conditions may provide it a competitive edge over native species during community reassembly following tropical storms. Differential responses of native and invasive species to hurricane disturbances will have profound consequences on community structure across coastal forest stands, and may be regulated by legacies of prior disturbances, community structure, extent of canopy damage, and species’ tolerance to specific microclimates.

     

Carbon sequestration in wetland soils of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region

Coastal wetlands play an important but complex role in the global carbon cycle, contributing to the ecosystem service of greenhouse gas regulation through carbon sequestration. Although coastal wetlands occupy a small percent of the total US land area, their potential for carbon storage, especially in soils, often exceeds that of other terrestrial ecosystems. More than half of the coastal wetlands in the US are located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, yet these wetlands continue to be degraded at an alarming rate, resulting in a significant loss of stored carbon and reduction in capacity for carbon sequestration. We provide estimates of surface soil carbon densities for wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region, calculated from field measurements of bulk density and soil carbon content in the upper 10–15 cm of soil. We combined these estimates with soil accretion rates derived from the literature and wetland area estimates to calculate surface soil carbon pools and accumulation rates. Wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region potentially store 34–47 Mg C ha^?1 and could potentially accumulate 11,517 Gg C year^?1. These estimates provide important information that can be used to incorporate the value of wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region in future wetland management decisions related to global climate change. Estimates of carbon sequestration potential should be considered along with estimates of other ecosystem services provided by wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region to strengthen and enhance the conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of these important natural resources.     

Backfilling canals to restore wetlands: empirical results in coastal Louisiana

Wetland restoration is largely a developing science and engineering enterprise. Analyses of results are too few and constrained to observations over a few years. We report here on the effectiveness of one restoration technique used sparsely in coastal Louisiana for several decades. Canals have been dredged in coastal Louisiana wetlands since 1938 for oil and gas exploration and extraction. These canals are typically dredged to 2.5 m depth and are 20 to 40 m wide. Canal lengths vary from 100 m to several 1000s m in the case of outer continental shelf pipeline canals that cross the wetlands.Today, thousands of miles of canals crisscross these wetlands. Studies have linked dredged canals to a number of undesirable effects on the wetland environment including alterations in salinity, flooding and drainage patterns, direct loss of marsh by convention to open water, and increases in marsh erosion rates. These effects have led state and federal agencies charged with managing the wetland resource to look for methods of mitigating canal impacts. One possible method of managing spoil banks after the abandonment of a drilling site is to return spoil material from the spoil banks to the canal with the hope that marsh vegetation will be reestablished on the old spoil banks and in the canal. The movement of former spoil bank material back into the canal is referred to as backfilling.The purpose of this study was to (1) examine how backfilled canals changed over 10 years, (2) examine factors influencing success with multiple regression statistical models, and, (3) compare costs of backfilling with other Louisiana marsh restoartion projects. We examined the sites to document and interpret changes occurring since 1983/4 and to statistically model the combined data derived from these new and previous analyses. Specifically, we wanted to determine the recovery rates of vegetation, water depth, and soils in backfilled canals, restored spoil banks, and in nearby marshes, and to quantify the influence of plugging canals on these rates.The major factors determining backfilling restoration success are the depth of the canal, soil type, canal dimensions, locale, dredge operator skill, and permitting conditions. Plugging the canal has no apparent effect on water depth or vegetation cover, with the exception that submerged aquatic vegetation may be more frequently observed behind backfilled canals with plugs than in backfilled canals without plugs. Canal age, soil organic matter content, and whether restoration was done as mitigation on-site or off-site were the most important predictors of final canal depth. Canal length and percentage of spoil returned (+) had the greatest effect on the restoration of vegetation cover. Backfilled canals were shallower if they were older, in soils lower in organic matter, and backfilled off-site. Backfilling the canal restores wetlands at a cost of $1,200 to $3,400/ha, which compares very favorably with planned restoration projects in south Louisiana.Corresponding Editor: Anonumous     

滨海湿地消浪服务空间分布特征——以上海市崇明岛为例

全球气候变化增加了滨海地区遭受侵蚀、风暴潮等灾害的风险,利用自然湿地的消浪功能增强海岸防护是当前研究的热点,但目前对消浪服务的空间分布评估研究相对匮乏。以上海市崇明岛环岛滨海湿地为例,结合GIS与Kobayashi指数形式波高衰减模型评估常规状态下湿地消浪服务的空间分布特征。结果显示,大、小潮升条件下,崇明环岛湿地消波的平均高度分别为0.94、0.54 m与效度分别为83.6%、60.4%,消波高度的空间分布表现为南岸小于北岸,消波效度的空间分布在小潮升时与消波高度相似,而大潮升时南岸的消波效度有明显提升。物理环境与生物因素空间分布及其相互作用的异质性,导致消浪服务的空间分布也具有空间异质性。实际参与消波的断面宽度与不同景观消波服务的评估结果表明,一个断面的所有景观并非都参与到消浪过程中,即使在大潮升时期,不同岸段景观的平均参与度不足71%。潮高与波高的增加并不会使参与消波的景观规模成对应比例的增加,说明消波服务在空间上具有明显的非线性特征。研究可为滨海湿地生态修复空间规划、基于生态系统的海岸带管理、自然资本核算提供科技支撑。     

Hurricane storm surge and amphibian communities in coastal wetlands of northwestern Florida

Isolated wetlands in the Southeastern United States are dynamic habitats subject to fluctuating environmental conditions. Wetlands located near marine environments are subject to alterations in water chemistry due to storm surge during hurricanes. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of storm surge overwash on wetland amphibian communities. Thirty-two wetlands in northwestern Florida were sampled over a 45-month period to assess amphibian species richness and water chemistry. During this study, seven wetlands were overwashed by storm surge from Hurricane Dennis which made landfall 10 July 2005 in the Florida panhandle. This event allowed us to evaluate the effect of storm surge overwash on water chemistry and amphibian communities of the wetlands. Specific conductance across all wetlands was low pre-storm (<100 μS/cm), but increased post-storm at the overwashed wetlands ([`(x)] \bar{x}  = 7,613 μS/cm). Increased specific conductance was strongly correlated with increases in chloride concentrations. Amphibian species richness showed no correlation with specific conductance. One month post-storm we observed slightly fewer species in overwashed compared with non-overwashed wetlands, but this trend did not continue in 2006. More species were detected across all wetlands pre-storm, but there was no difference between overwashed and non-overwashed wetlands when considering all amphibian species or adult anurans and larval anurans separately. Amphibian species richness did not appear to be correlated with pH or presence of fish although the amphibian community composition differed between wetlands with and without fish. Our results suggest that amphibian communities in wetlands in the southeastern United States adjacent to marine habitats are resistant to the effects of storm surge overwash.     

Hurricane wrack generates landscape‐level heterogeneity in coastal pine savanna

Wrack (vegetation debris) deposited by storm surges of major hurricanes along the northern Gulf of Mexico produces depressant effects that vary from partial to complete mortality of groundcover vegetation in coastal savannas. As wrack decomposes or is relocated by a subsequent hurricane, patches are opened to colonization. We postulated that patterns of wrack deposition and removal, coupled with differential responses by savanna plant species should produce alternate states of groundcover vegetation. We explored extreme effects of wrack deposited by Hurricane Katrina (2005) in savannas dominated by slash pine Pinus elliottii and cordgrass Spartina patens and located above mean high tide at the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi, USA. In 2008, we established plots in adjacent areas with and without wrack deposits. Almost no groundcover plant species occurred in wrack deposits compared to adjacent groundcover without wrack. We simulated redistribution of wrack during a new storm surge by removing wrack from replicated plots and depositing it in plots without wrack, recording plant species in treatment and control plots before, then one month and one year after manipulations. One year later, about half the species present before wrack addition (especially dominant graminoids) grew back through redistributed wrack, suggesting that some species were resistant to burial of limited amounts of wrack. Wrack removal resulted in germination and establishment of numerous herbaceous plant species not in undisturbed groundcover, doubling total aboveground numbers of species in the pine savanna and shifting groundcover communities to alternate states not present prior to Katrina. Removal of wrack opens space colonized by resilient species, including those transported in wrack and those surviving intervals between disturbances belowground. Wrack dynamics (deposition and removal) generated alternate states that resulted from resistance‐ and resilience‐driven changes in different patches of groundcover in coastal savannas.     

Quantifying ecological filters: the relative impact of herbivory, neighbours, and sediment on an oligohaline marsh

The objective of this experiment was to quantify the relative importance of herbivory, interactions with neighbours and sediment addition as filters in controlling the species present in an oligohaline marsh in southeastern Louisiana, USA. We planted 16 species of wetland plants in 3×3 m plots either inside or outside herbivore exclosures, with or without presence of established vegetation, and with or without added sediment. These species, representing 12 families and diverse morphologies, included herbaceous and woody plants. At the end of the growing season above‐ and below ground biomass were measured. In cleared plots (no neighbours) inside herbivore exclosures, 12 of the 16 species grew well, indicating that they could tolerate the physical conditions in the habitat. Competition significantly reduced the biomass of four of these species (A. calamus, C. occidentalis, P. hemitomon, P. cordata), suggesting that it is the strongest species‐specific filter operating in the marsh. These results confirm the general consensus that competition from existing plants is the strongest filter operating in high biomass habitats, and further imply that competition has the potential to remove 33% of the species from the community. Facilitation occurred for one species, R. corniculata. Herbivory had the largest general effect of reducing biomass, as determined in the full ANOVA model, but on a species‐specific basis, significantly reduced the biomass of only two species (T. distichum, T. domingensis). These results support the emerging view that herbivory is an important filter in coastal wetlands. Although several other studies have argued for the importance of sedimentation in controlling plant species composition in wetlands, we found no effect of sediment addition. Competition and herbivory appear to be two critical biological filters that control plant composition of coastal wetlands, and they must be considered in future studies and restoration efforts along the Gulf of Mexico.     

Monitoring rapid vegetation succession in estuarine wetland using time series MODIS-based indicators: An application in the Yangtze River Delta area

Frequent and continuous time series is required for the detection of plant phenology and vegetation succession. The launch of novel remote sensor MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) provided us with an opportunity to make a new trial of studying the rapid vegetation succession in estuarine wetlands. In this study, the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation cover and tidal flat elevation along a transect (covering 6 pixels of MODIS) of an estuarine wetland at Dongtan, Chongming Island, in Yangtze River estuary, China were investigated to assess its rapid vegetation succession and physical conditions. By combining the field data collected, the time series of MODIS-based VIs (vegetation indices), including NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), EVI (enhanced vegetation index) and MSAVI (modified soil adjusted vegetation index), and a water index, LSWI (land surface water index) were utilized to characterize the rapid vegetation succession between 2001 and 2006. We found that NDVI, EVI and MSAVI exhibited significant spatial and temporal correlations with vegetation succession, while LSWI behaved in a positive manner with surface water and soil moisture along with the successional stages. In order to take the advantages of both VIs and water index, a composite index of VWR (vegetation water ratio) combining LSWI and EVI or MSAVI was proposed in this paper. This index facilitates the identification of vegetation succession by simply comparing the values of VWR at different stages, and therefore it could track vegetation succession and estimate community spread rate. Additionally, this study presented an attempt of using MODIS datasets to monitor the change of tidal flat elevation, which demonstrated a potential remote sensing application in geodesy of coastal and estuarine areas.     

滨海湿地生态系统土壤微生物及其影响因素研究综述

土壤微生物是滨海湿地生态系统中不可或缺的关键组分,在土壤发育、物质循环和污染物净化等诸多土壤生态过程中发挥着重要作用,对滨海湿地生态系统的维持与健康具有重大影响。系统梳理了滨海湿地土壤微生物群落结构特征和多样性,综述了土壤理化性质、植被状况、水文因素、生物入侵、全球变化、湿地开垦、石油污染等因素对滨海湿地土壤微生物的影响。在此基础上,对今后的研究重点提出了4个方面的展望:(1)加强全球变化多因子交互作用下滨海湿地土壤微生物的响应机制;(2)强化滨海湿地土壤微生物与环境因子的互作机理;(3)深化滨海湿地水动力条件对土壤微生物的影响机制;(4)开展土壤微生物与滨海湿地生态系统物质循环综合研究。研究以期为滨海湿地生态系统的保护和修复提供参考。     

Coastal Exploitation, Land Loss, and Hurricanes: A Recipe for Disaster

Southern Louisiana occupies a dynamic landscape, marked by coastal wetlands interrupted by both natural and human-made levees, and vulnerable to both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers and major storms coming off the Gulf of Mexico. It is also a region into which, for centuries, exiled and threatened populations have moved and found refuge. Systematic and dramatic changes along the entire reach of the Mississippi River coupled with activities within the region's wetlands such as levee construction, canal dredging, and petroleum extraction have contributed to both pollution and extensive coastal land loss. In this article, I discuss the recent hurricanes in light of the relationship between Louisiana and the rest of the United States and the environmental and community degradation that has occurred along the coast. I focus on petroleum development, the most recent and extensive natural resource to shape southern Louisiana's wealth and economy.     

Great Lakes coastal wetland habitat use by seven turtle species: influences of wetland type, vegetation, and abiotic conditions

Great Lakes coastal wetlands are important habitats for turtles but few studies have looked at factors driving community structure in these systems. We evaluated the effects of wetland type, vegetation, and abiotic conditions on turtle communities for 56 wetlands in Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior with data collected during the summers of 2000–2008. Overall, 1,366 turtles representing seven species were captured using fyke nets. For the majority of species, catches were highest in drowned river mouth wetlands In addition, turtles tended to be more abundant in water lilies, submersed aquatic vegetation, and cattails compared to bulrush. We also found positive correlations between catches of four of the species as well as total turtle catch and turtle species richness with a human disturbance gradient. These correlations suggest that turtles may be able to utilize coastal wetland areas that are inhospitable to fish because of hypoxic conditions. Our results show the importance Great Lakes coastal wetlands to turtles, and stress the need for managers to take into account turtle populations when preparing conservation and restoration strategies.     

A Preliminary Assessment of Social and Economic Impacts Associated with Hurricane Katrina

Storm surge and wind associated with Hurricane Katrina caused many deaths and the destruction of property and public infrastructure along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The devastation was predicted, and absent massive and immediate action, the next major storm will inevitably produce additional disastrous outcomes. Somewhat less predictable are the many social changes associated with the hurricane and public sector response to the event. We characterize some of the more salient human consequences across multiple sectors of the economy—including energy, finance, construction, housing, gaming, and commercial fisheries. We examine how preexisting social trends were amplified, otherwise-latent social and cultural distinctions were exacerbated, and national resources and funds intended for broad-scale "recovery" were converted into instruments of capital formation and further concentration of wealth. We conclude with a discussion exploring public policy and other implications of the disaster in a context of ever-increasing global, environmental, and social challenges.     

Rapid risk assessment of wetland degradation and loss in low-lying coastal zone of Shanghai,China

Coastal wetlands are facing an increasingly high risk of degradation and loss due to a wide variety of human activities and natural processes. Human encroachment, including land reclamation, drainage, and introduction of invasive species, has direct negative effects on wetlands, mainly through changes in hydrology and vegetation. Additionally, accelerated sea level rise (SLR) can result in flooding of wetlands in low-lying coastal zones. In this study, we present a rapid risk assessment method for coastal wetland loss and degradation. The main stress factors, i.e., urban sprawl, agriculture, coastal erosion, and SLR, have been examined and quantified through remote sensing and geographic information system spatial analysis. A weighted factor-based linear model has been used to evaluate the spatial risk levels of wetland loss. The proposed methodology is applied to the low-lying coastal wetlands of Hangzhou Bay in Shanghai, China. The results show that the regions closer to the sea have relatively higher risk levels on the landward side of the coastline, but relatively low risk levels on the seaward side of the coastline. This work emphasizes the need to sustainably use and protect wetlands in order to reduce disaster risks and contribute to the improvement of human well-being.     

Thresholds of sea‐level rise rate and sea‐level rise acceleration rate in a vulnerable coastal wetland

Feedbacks among inundation, sediment trapping, and vegetation productivity help maintain coastal wetlands facing sea‐level rise (SLR ). However, when the SLR rate exceeds a threshold, coastal wetlands can collapse. Understanding the threshold helps address key challenges in ecology—nonlinear response of ecosystems to environmental change, promotes communication between ecologists and resource managers, and facilitates decision‐making in climate change policies. We studied the threshold of SLR rate and developed a new threshold of SLR acceleration rate on sustainability of coastal wetlands as SLR is likely to accelerate due to enhanced anthropogenic forces. Deriving these two thresholds depends on the temporal scale, the interaction of SLR with other environmental factors, and landscape metrics, which have not been fully accounted for before this study. We chose a representative marine‐dominated estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico, Grand Bay in Mississippi, to test the concept of SLR thresholds. We developed a mechanistic model to simulate wetland change and then derived the SLR thresholds for Grand Bay. The model results show that the threshold of SLR rate in Grand Bay is 11.9 mm/year for 2050, and it drops to 8.4 mm/year for 2100 using total wetland area as a landscape metric. The corresponding SLR acceleration rate thresholds are 3.02 × 10^?4 m/year² and 9.62 × 10^?5 m/year² for 2050 and 2100, respectively. The newly developed SLR acceleration rate threshold can help quantify the temporal lag before the rapid decline in wetland area becomes evident after the SLR rate threshold is exceeded, and cumulative SLR a wetland can adapt to under the SLR acceleration scenarios. Based on the thresholds, SLR that will adversely impact the coastal wetlands in Grand Bay by 2100 will fall within the likely range of SLR under a high warming scenario (RCP 8.5), highlighting the need to avoid RCP 8.5 to preserve these marshes.     

Oceanographic anomalies and sea‐level rise drive mangroves inland in the Pacific coast of Mexico

Question: Although mangrove forests are generally regarded as highly threatened, some studies have shown that mangrove canopies in the Pacific coast of Mexico have been increasing in recent decades. We investigated the possible causes driving this reported mangrove expansion. Location: The mangrove lagoons of Magdalena Bay in Baja California, Mexico. Methods: We used 50‐year‐old aerial photographs and 24‐year‐old satellite images to compare long‐term vegetation change, surveyed a coastal vegetation transect to analyse flooding levels, compiled six decades of tidal and oceanographic information, as well as hurricane data to analyse changes in storm frequency or sea‐level conditions, and used isotopic analysis to date the age of trees along the gradient. Results: A significant increase in mangrove cover has occurred in backwaters of the lagoons during the last 40 years, and especially during the El Niño anomalies of the 1980s and 1990s, while at the same time the mangrove fringe has been receding. Conclusions: The observed change can be attributed to the combined action of the warm surface waters of El Niño events and sea‐level rise. Jointly, these two effects are sufficient to flood large areas of previously non‐flooded salt flats, dispersing mangrove seedlings inland. The inland expansion of mangroves, however, does not ease conservation concerns, as it is the seaward fringes, and not the inland margins, that provide the most valuable environmental services for fisheries and coastal protection.     

Development of an Indicator to Monitor Mediterranean Wetlands

Wetlands are sensitive ecosystems that are increasingly subjected to threats from anthropogenic factors. In the last decades, coastal Mediterranean wetlands have been suffering considerable pressures from land use change, intensification of urban growth, increasing tourism infrastructure and intensification of agricultural practices. Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques are efficient tools that can support monitoring Mediterranean coastal wetlands on large scales and over long periods of time. The study aims at developing a wetland indicator to support monitoring Mediterranean coastal wetlands using these techniques. The indicator makes use of multi-temporal Landsat images, land use reference layers, a 50m numerical model of the territory (NMT) and Corine Land Cover (CLC) for the identification and mapping of wetlands. The approach combines supervised image classification techniques making use of vegetation indices and decision tree analysis to identify the surface covered by wetlands at a given date. A validation process is put in place to compare outcomes with existing local wetland inventories to check the results reliability. The indicator´s results demonstrate an improvement in the level of precision of change detection methods achieved by traditional tools providing reliability up to 95% in main wetland areas. The results confirm that the use of RS techniques improves the precision of wetland detection compared to the use of CLC for wetland monitoring and stress the strong relation between the level of wetland detection and the nature of the wetland areas and the monitoring scale considered.