Hurricane Mitch: acute impacts on mangrove forest structure and an evaluation of recovery trajectories

Interactions among phosphorus, pH and Eh in reforested mangroves, Vietnam: a three-dimensional spatial analysis

“…Exploitations and land reclamations are often uncontrolled or poorly administered in mangrove regions, because management plans are missing (Nam and My 1993). Further, sea level rise might also have an impact on mangroves (Cohen and Lara 2003 and references therein) and hurricane impacts (e.g., Hensel and Proffitt 2002) will probably increase in frequency and intensity due to global climate change. In Vietnam, about 57% of the mangrove area was destroyed during the Second Indochina War.…”

Hurricane Mitch: a regional perspective on mangrove damage, recovery, and sustainability

“…In this report, we provide an overview of the extent and types of damage of mangrove forests in the central region of Central America, and their potential for recovery. We summarize empirical findings and field observations on forest structure and sediments for Honduras and Guatemala (presented in USAID reports prepared by the USGS: Hensel and Proffitt, 2002;Cahoon and others, 2002;McKee and McGinnis, 2002), and for Costa Rica (conducted by Delgado and others, 2001). We evaluate the potential for forest recovery by impact type and geomorphic setting (e.g., Caribbean vs. Pacific coasts), as well as the implications for long-term sustainability of the mangrove ecosystems.…”

“…An estimated 11,000 lives were lost, 70-80% of agricultural crops were destroyed, and over 1 million people were displaced from their homes (Guiney andLawrence, 1999, US Geological Survey, 2001 island's mangroves. The nearby island of Roatan was not as hard hit, and most mangrove forests survived the combination of strong winds and storm surge-induced inundation (Hensel and Proffitt, 2002).…”

Mangroves as bioshield: An undisputable fact

“…The super cyclone annihilated almost all the trees in the close vicinity of the Odisha coast and caused irreparable damage to the vegetation of several kilometers inland, but notably, the mangrove forests remained intact. At the same time it is worth to mention here that the extensive Casuarina plantations established as a storm protection measure along the Orissa coast were ineffective in preventing damage (Hensel and Proffitt, 2002).…”

“…However the withstanding ability of mangroves against cyclones considerably varies depending upon the wind velocity. For instance, the hurricane Mitch (1998) which passed directly over three countries (Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico) with a speed of 287 km/h, cleared 97 percent of mangrove forest in the Bay Island of Guanaja (Hensel and Proffitt, 2002).…”