MOnitoring Mangrove ExteNT & Services (MOMENTS): What is controlling Tipping Points?
Lead Research Organisation:
Aberystwyth University
Department Name: Inst of Geography and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Within the tropics mangrove forests are seen as one of the most sustainable solutions to coastal climate adaptation and mitigation as a coastal wave buffer and carbon storage yet they are also threatened by accelerated sea level rise, sediment starvation and increased storm frequency and intensity. Particularly in vulnerable regions of Southeast-Asia changes in mangrove extend have implications with societal and economic relevance. There is an incomplete understanding of the factors causing tipping points resulting in mangroves switching to a fast rate of retreat or outgrowth at the border between mangroves and tidal flats. While quantification of the true economic value of the ecosystem system services (e.g., coastal protection, fisheries, carbon storage, biodiversity and wood products) provided by mangroves and their link to mangrove extent is also limited and is important for understanding the full business case for mangroves in the wider system. This project aims to understand the factors controlling such non-linear mangrove dynamics and to quantify the rate of lateral mangrove dynamics and associated change in ecosystem services in Vietnam and Indonesia. This project will further develop a satellite based remote sensing monitoring system in combination with field and mesocosm experiments, modelling to elucidate tipping points in lateral mangrove dynamics and quantifying the economic value of mangroves restoration and loss. These will provide national monitoring allowing changes to be understood and anticipated, key areas for restoration identified and the economic value and its temporal dynamics to be assessed. Furthermore, national and local governments, NGOs and coastal communities will benefit through the provision of evidence and methods for quantifying the value of mangroves and mangrove restoration.
Planned Impact
The main beneficiaries from this research will be:
* Academic communities (mangrove ecology, coastal engineering, ecosystem services modelling, remote sensing and image processing)
* Local and national governments with mangrove regions but specifically Vietnam and Indonesia
* NGO's involved in mangrove restoration and management projects.
* International NGOs including United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN FAO), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Group on Earth Observations (GEO), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC)
They will benefit from this research through the following outputs:
1. Mangrove tipping points model, providing new understand on the drivers of lateral changes in mangrove extent.
2. Economic model for ecosystem services of mangroves
3. A near real-time satellite monitoring system for mangrove extent.
4. Monthly mapping products for mangrove extent from January 2015 to November 2019, which will be made freely available to the community at the end of the project.
5. The open source free software RSGISLib will be extended in creating the monitoring system and made available with documentation to the community.
These outputs will be publicised through:
1. Publications and Conferences
2. Project website and social media feeds
3. Annual newsletters
4. Policy Briefings
5. Shared study sites and collaboration with local NGOs
6. Open access software tools and documentation
7. End of project workshops in Indonesia and Vietnam with government and NGOs.
General Impact:
--------------
Mangrove forests are a globally important yet threatened ecosystem being significant for carbon storage, coastal resilience, biodiversity and local livelihoods. With climate change these environments are expected to be under increasing pressure due to increasing sea levels and storm frequency. Quantifying the economic value of ecosystems is difficult but this project will provide a model for the mangrove ecosystems in Vietnam and Indonesia providing the ability to make a more accurate economic case for mangrove management and restoration. Restoration projects have in many instances failed, this project will provide new and improved understand of the drivers and tipping points associated with lateral mangrove dynamics and thus improve the success of restoration projects. A near real-time monitoring system for detecting mangrove change will also be created. This will provide new information on location of changes, the rate of changes and the hotspots of change which were not previously known and therefore allowing a focusing of resources for mangrove management.
* Academic communities (mangrove ecology, coastal engineering, ecosystem services modelling, remote sensing and image processing)
* Local and national governments with mangrove regions but specifically Vietnam and Indonesia
* NGO's involved in mangrove restoration and management projects.
* International NGOs including United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (UN FAO), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Group on Earth Observations (GEO), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC)
They will benefit from this research through the following outputs:
1. Mangrove tipping points model, providing new understand on the drivers of lateral changes in mangrove extent.
2. Economic model for ecosystem services of mangroves
3. A near real-time satellite monitoring system for mangrove extent.
4. Monthly mapping products for mangrove extent from January 2015 to November 2019, which will be made freely available to the community at the end of the project.
5. The open source free software RSGISLib will be extended in creating the monitoring system and made available with documentation to the community.
These outputs will be publicised through:
1. Publications and Conferences
2. Project website and social media feeds
3. Annual newsletters
4. Policy Briefings
5. Shared study sites and collaboration with local NGOs
6. Open access software tools and documentation
7. End of project workshops in Indonesia and Vietnam with government and NGOs.
General Impact:
--------------
Mangrove forests are a globally important yet threatened ecosystem being significant for carbon storage, coastal resilience, biodiversity and local livelihoods. With climate change these environments are expected to be under increasing pressure due to increasing sea levels and storm frequency. Quantifying the economic value of ecosystems is difficult but this project will provide a model for the mangrove ecosystems in Vietnam and Indonesia providing the ability to make a more accurate economic case for mangrove management and restoration. Restoration projects have in many instances failed, this project will provide new and improved understand of the drivers and tipping points associated with lateral mangrove dynamics and thus improve the success of restoration projects. A near real-time monitoring system for detecting mangrove change will also be created. This will provide new information on location of changes, the rate of changes and the hotspots of change which were not previously known and therefore allowing a focusing of resources for mangrove management.
Publications
Worthington TA
(2020)
A global biophysical typology of mangroves and its relevance for ecosystem structure and deforestation.
in Scientific reports
Awty-Carroll K
(2019)
An Evaluation and Comparison of Four Dense Time Series Change Detection Methods Using Simulated Data
in Remote Sensing
Eddy S
(2021)
Anthropogenic Drivers of Mangrove Loss and Associated Carbon Emissions in South Sumatra, Indonesia
in Forests
Vovides AG
(2021)
Cooperative root graft networks benefit mangrove trees under stress.
in Communications biology
Thomas N
(2017)
Distribution and drivers of global mangrove forest change, 1996-2010.
in PloS one
BASYUNI M
(2018)
Diversity and habitat characteristics of macrozoobenthos in the mangrove forest of Lubuk Kertang Village, North Sumatra, Indonesia
in Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Awty-Carroll K
(2021)
Evaluation of the Continuous Monitoring of Land Disturbance Algorithm for Large-Scale Mangrove Classification
in Remote Sensing
Bunting P
(2022)
Global Mangrove Extent Change 1996-2020: Global Mangrove Watch Version 3.0
in Remote Sensing
Description | We have created a global mangrove extent map for 2010 and change from that baseline for 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2016. These are the first maps which have used a globally consistent methodology and provide the first consistent global statistics on mangrove change. These data are available for download here: http://data.unep-wcmc.org/datasets/45 We have also investigated further methodologies which have produce higher temporal resolution change results for Vietnam and Indonesia. These methods have been the basis for further improvements to the global mangrove mapping. |
Exploitation Route | These maps are now considered the best available mangroves maps and are already been used by others for mangrove related studies. We have also released the global mangrove watch online portal which provides information on mangrove forest extent and ecosystem services in a end user friendly format. Aberystwyth University have further funding with Wetlands International and The Nature Conservancy to provide end user training for the use of this portal which will be starting in 2021. |
Sectors | Environment |
URL | https://www.globalmangrovewatch.org |
Description | The maps of mangrove extent that were generated through this research as used for the UN SDG 6.6.1 mangrove extent reporting and change analysis. Additionally the mangrove maps are used by the Global Mangrove Alliance and Global Mangrove Watch as the baseline for identifying areas with mangrove restoration potential and monthly change alerts. |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Other |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | Global Mangrove Watch Data Analysis |
Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Wetlands International |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Netherlands |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2023 |
Title | Mangrove Mesocosm Experiments |
Description | Mangrove mesocosms have been set up in both Indonesia and Vietnam to test mangrove propagules windows of oppotunity, for example to deal with wave action. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | We are finding new information on mangroves ability to self seed and their window of oppotunities in Indonesia and Vietnam. |
Title | Earth Observation Data Downloader (EODataDown) |
Description | Software for automatically downloading and processing EO data (Landsat, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2) to an ARD format. The software has user defined plugins which enable a near real time monitoring system to be created. |
Type Of Material | Data handling & control |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This software is being used to provide near real time alerts within the global mangrove watch, available on the global mangrove watch portal (https://www.globalmangrovewatch.org) |
URL | https://github.com/remotesensinginfo/eodatadown |
Title | Global Mangrove Watch Dataset |
Description | Global mangrove extent maps |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The first mangrove extent layer with change layers (1996 to 2016) and is being widely used. For example, it is the mangrove extent layer being used as the reference mangrove extent for UN SDG 6.6.1 |
URL | https://data.unep-wcmc.org/datasets/45 |
Title | Monitoring of tides in coastal wetlands with the 'Mini Buoy': applications for mangrove restoration |
Description | This repository contains the datasets for the publication: Monitoring of tides in coastal wetlands with the 'Mini Buoy': applications for mangrove restoration Balke T, Vovides A, Schwarz C, Chmura GL, Ladd C, Basyuni M |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4244643 |
Title | Monitoring of tides in coastal wetlands with the 'Mini Buoy': applications for mangrove restoration |
Description | This repository contains the datasets for the publication: Monitoring of tides in coastal wetlands with the 'Mini Buoy': applications for mangrove restoration Balke T, Vovides A, Schwarz C, Chmura GL, Ladd C, Basyuni M |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4244642 |
Description | Global Mangrove Watch |
Organisation | Wetlands International |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Aberystwyth University have worked closely with Wetlands International to realise the outcomes of the mangrove extent data and near real time alerts. This has led to the launch of the global mangrove watch online portal. |
Collaborator Contribution | Wetlands International has experience in implementing on the ground activities which is enabling the practical use of the mangrove extent data for mangrove conservation. Wetlands International also have experience and knowledge in engaging more broadly with end users which has resulted in the global mangrove watch online portal. |
Impact | Global Mangrove Watch Online Portal Worthington, T. A., Andradi-Brown, D. A., Bhargava, R., Buelow, C., Bunting, P., Duncan, C., Fatoyinbo, L., Friess, D. A., Goldberg, L., Hilarides, L., Lagomasino, D., Landis, E., Longley-Wood, K., Lovelock, C. E., Murray, N. J., Narayan, S., Rosenqvist, A., Sievers, M., Simard, M., Thomas, N., van Eijk, P., Zganjar, C. & Spalding, M., 22 May 2020, Harnessing Big Data to Support the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Mangrove Forests Globally In: One Earth. 3, 2, p. 429-443 15 p. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Title | EODataDown |
Description | A tool for automatically downloading Earth Observation imagery and products. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | This software enables the automated download and analysis ready processing of EO data from a range of providers. This is the key part of creating an automated EO based monitoring system. |
URL | https://bitbucket.org/petebunting/eodatadown |
Title | PB Slurm User Tools |
Description | Tools for generating slurm job submission scripts. These are a set of scripts which have been put together to streamline data processing workflows. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Simiplifies data analysis in a HPC environment using slurm. |
URL | https://bitbucket.org/petebunting/pb_slurm_user_tools |
Title | Updated classification tools within RSGISLib |
Description | The RSGISLib tools are software for spatial (raster and vector) data processing. This is a core part of the work in terms of EO data processing on MOMENTS. The image classification module within RSGISLib has been updated to make use of more up to date algorithms (e.g., deep learning neural networks, XGBoost etc.). |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Within the MOMENTS project the classification modules have been recoded to make them more flexible and to use more up to date machine learning approaches. This has resulted in better quality mangrove extent maps being generated. |
URL | http://www.rsgislib.org |
Description | Presentation at RAMSAR COP 13 Side Event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Results from the mangrove extent maps which have been produced globally, supported by the MOMENTS project, were presented at the RAMSAR COP 13. There was a lot of interest from users for information reporting mangrove extent at national and international scales. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |