Understanding Dynamics of Mangrove Forest on Protected Areas of Hainan Island, China: 30 Years of Evidence from Remote Sensing

Jingjuan Liao, Jianing Zhen, Li Zhang and Graciela Metternicht
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Jingjuan Liao: Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
Jianing Zhen: Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
Li Zhang: Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
Graciela Metternicht: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals requires countries to determine targets for the protection, conservation, or restoration of coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests by 2030. Satellite remote sensing provides historical and current data on the distribution and dynamics of mangrove forests, essential baseline data that are needed to design suitable policy interventions. In this study, Landsat time series were used to map trends and dynamics of mangrove change over a time span of 30 years (1987–2017) in protected areas of Hainan Island (China). A support vector machine algorithm was combined with visual interpretation of imagery and result showed alternating periods of expansion and loss of mangrove forest at seven selected sites on Hainan Island. Over this period, there was a net decrease in mangrove area of 9.3%, with anthropic activities such as land conversion for aquaculture, wastewater disposal and discharge, and tourism development appearing to be the likely drivers of this decline in cover. Long-term studies examining trends in land use cover change coupled with assessments of drivers of loss or gain enable the development of evidence based on policy and legislation. This forms the basis of financing of natural reserves of management and institutional capacity building, and facilitates public awareness and participation, including co-management.

Keywords: mangrove forest; Hainan Island; remote sensing; land cover dynamics; protected areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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