Remote sensing, GIS, and field methods have combined to drive the mangrove forests research forward in the last decade. Mangrove forests are one of, if not the most crucial forest-type in terms of carbon sequestration and storage are at the forefront of the climate change literature. Stuart Hamilton of Gulf Coast GIS LLC has partnered with scantiest thorough out the world to develop new and innovative geospatial methods designed to improve mangrove mapping and monitoring. Some of his publications are below.
Mounting evidence suggests that mangrove forests protect coastal communities during tropical storm events. We provide global evidence that mangroves shelter economic activity during tropical cyclone exposure and that this sheltering prevents otherwise permanent losses to economic activity.
Global mangrove deforestation continues but at a much reduced rate of between 0.16% and 0.39% per year. Southeast Asia is a region of concern with mangrove deforestation rates between 3.58% and 8.08%, this in a region containing half of the entire global mangrove forest inventory.
Globally, mangroves stored 4.19 Pg of carbon in 2012, with Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea accounting for more than 50% of the global stock. 2.96 Pg of the global carbon stock is the soil and 1.23 Pg in the biomass. Two percent of global mangrove carbon was lost between 2000 and 2012.
This chapter examines the major global remotely sensed mangrove databases that have become accessible since the year 2000. By doing so, we summarize the significant methodological differences between each product and provide a best estimate of post-2000 mangrove cover at the global level.
We find that 80 percent,or 7,014,517 t, of the living carbon lost in Ecuadorian mangrove forests can be attributed to direct displacement of mangrove forests by shrimp aquaculture. We also find that IPCC carbon compliant grids overestimate living carbon levels in estuaries where substantial LUCC has occurred.
Current mangrove planting schemes aimed at reversing global mangrove losses are prioritising short-term increases in mangrove area over long-term mangrove establishment. Without sound, evidence-based restoration policies, this approach could accelerate the demise of mangrove forests and the ecosystem services they provide.
Stuart Hamilton of Gulf Coast GIS LLC has published geospatial methodologies relating to coastal viewsheds, coastal resilience, shoreline mapping, topographic mapping, agricultural mapping, bathymetric mapping, and epidemiology. Full a full list of publication, please visit ORCID or Google Scholar.