Satellite Data Reveal Concerns Regarding Mangrove Restoration Efforts in Southern China

Mangrove restoration projects are often evaluated based on the increase in mangrove forest (MF) area, but reliability of this indicator as a measure successful is questionable. Considering both numerical and quality dimensions, study assessed efforts Leizhou Peninsula Beibu Gulf (LP-BG) China. The hypothesis was that due to limited social capital investment restoration, there exist hierarchical differences urgency restoration. Time-series Landsat imagery from Google Earth Engine platform used analyze MF distribution 2000 2020. A resilience indicator, incorporating resistance adaptive capacity, constructed assess within identified boundaries. results revealed an area 6655.87 ha 14,607.93 However, majority (79.6%) patches exhibited low (values < 3), with only minority (51 patches) demonstrating high resilience. Interestingly, MFs reserve displayed higher resilience, these areas did not exhibit significant spatial expansion MFs. These findings highlight limitation relying solely net growth Instead, ecologically optimal solution recommended, focusing expanding conservation boundaries include remnant outside protected areas, rather than creating new planting areas. This provides assessment framework evaluate efficiency offers insights for local decision makers guide future endeavors.