Visual image interpretation and digital image classification have been used to map and monitor mangrove extent and composition for decades. The presence of a high-spatial resolution hyperspectral sensor can potentially improve our ability to differentiate mangrove species. However, little research has explored the use of pixel-based and object-based approaches on high-spatial hyperspectral data...

INTRODUCTION AND SETTING The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is comprised of a number of islands in the northern Caribbean, including the island of Puerto Rico and offshore islands such as Culebra, Vieques, Monito, and Desecheo (Figure 3.1). The following information adds to the comprehensive overview of Puertorrican reefs provided in the previous edition of this report (García-Sais et al., 2005). ...

This essay addresses the conservation issues facing mangroves in the Anthropocene, defined as the era of human domination over the world. We review the laws, policies, international agreements, and local actions that address the conservation of mangrove forests in the Neotropics and relate them to the Anthropocene. Collaboration between governments, non-governmental organizations, and communiti...

Here we embark in a deep metagenomic survey that revealed the taxonomic and potential metabolic pathways aspects of mangrove sediment microbiology. The extraction of DNA from sediment samples and the direct application of pyrosequencing resulted in approximately 215 Mb of data from four distinct mangrove areas (BrMgv01 to 04) in Brazil. The taxonomic approaches applied revealed the dominance of...

The mangrove biome stands out as a distinct forest type at the interface between terrestrial, estuarine, and near-shore marine ecosystems. However, mangrove species are increasingly threatened and experiencing range contraction across the globe that requires urgent conservation action. Here, we assess the spatial distribution of mangrove species richness and evolutionary diversity, and evaluate...

EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS of the ecological relationships of soil microfungi with soil types, pH, moisture, horizon, temperature, and macrovegetation have been published (Parkinson and Waid, 1960; Alexander, 1961; and Burges and Raw, 1967). It is a well-established principle that soil fungi are influenced by specific soil environments. Mangroves occupy a littoral habitat, characterized almost in...

Mangroves dwell at the land-ocean interface and are thus encroached upon by competing land use at the coastal zone. They are also subject to impacts from catchments developments. As a result, mangroves worldwide are having their extension changed (Spalding et al, 1997). Worldwide it is well accepted that mangrove extension is decreasing mostly due to conversion to other uses, in particular aqua...

Mangroves are ecosystems with enormous ecological importance, supporting both terrestrial and marine food webs. They provide ecosystem services (e.g. food, medicines, fuel, constructing material) to communities near and far. Despite their importance, mangrove areas are facing numerous threats. Based on neo-Malthusian narratives, population growth is an alleged main cause of mangrove degradation...

BACKGROUND Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangrove forests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangrove forests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patte...

Mangroves can capture and store organic carbon and their protection and therefore their restoration is a component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it diffi...