Land cover changes in the Caroni Swamp Ramsar Site, Trinidad (1942 and 2007): implications for management

Juman, Rahanna A.; Ramsewak, Deanesh

doi:10.1007/s11852-012-0225-0

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Localized mangrove expansion in Texas coastal ecosystems is mirrored in other marsh-mangrove ecotones around the world [ 1 , 39 , 49 , 50 ]. The ecological, hydrological, and geomorphological implications of these expansions include changes to fishery support, carbon sequestration rates, and shoreline stabilization [ 19 , 51 – 53 ], though many effects still need to be better quantified.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of Mangrove Expansion to Salt Marsh Loss on the Texas Gulf Coast

et al. 2015

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Landscape-level shifts in plant species distribution and abundance can fundamentally change the ecology of an ecosystem. Such shifts are occurring within mangrove-marsh ecotones, where over the last few decades, relatively mild winters have led to mangrove expansion into areas previously occupied by salt marsh plants. On the Texas (USA) coast of the western Gulf of Mexico, most cases of mangrove expansion have been documented within specific bays or watersheds. Based on this body of relatively small-scale work and broader global patterns of mangrove expansion, we hypothesized that there has been a recent regional-level displacement of salt marshes by mangroves. We classified Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper images using artificial neural networks to quantify black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) expansion and salt marsh (Spartina alterniflora and other grass and forb species) loss over 20 years across the entire Texas coast. Between 1990 and 2010, mangrove area grew by 16.1 km2, a 74% increase. Concurrently, salt marsh area decreased by 77.8 km2, a 24% net loss. Only 6% of that loss was attributable to mangrove expansion; most salt marsh was lost due to conversion to tidal flats or water, likely a result of relative sea level rise. Our research confirmed that mangroves are expanding and, in some instances, displacing salt marshes at certain locations. However, this shift is not widespread when analyzed at a larger, regional level. Rather, local, relative sea level rise was indirectly implicated as another important driver causing regional-level salt marsh loss. Climate change is expected to accelerate both sea level rise and mangrove expansion; these mechanisms are likely to interact synergistically and contribute to salt marsh loss.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of Mangrove Expansion to Salt Marsh Loss on the Texas Gulf Coast

et al. 2015

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“…It allows redundant data to be compacted into fewer bands; that is, the dimensionality of the dataset is reduced. The bands of PCA data are non-correlated and independent, and are often easier to interpret than the source data (Faust 1989;Jensen 2004). The PCA approach is applied to monitor, delineate and assess the waterlogged and salt-affected areas from the multi-temporal Landsat data used in this present study.…”

Section: Digital Image Processing and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variations in the LU/LC along the study area investigated have been identified through the analysis of multitemporal satellite images with the aid of GIS analysis. Jensen (2004) describes various change detection analysis methods that can be used to perform change detection of multi-date RS data. In this study the band differencing technique was applied in particular with normalized band 4 over a time period of 29 years (Fig.…”

Section: Terrain Analyses For Landforms Susceptibility Waterlogging mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…16). As stated by Jensen (2004), a change image produced using image differencing usually yields a DN distribution that is approximately Gaussian in nature, where pixels of no DN change are distributed around the mean and pixels of change are found in the tails of the distribution. This has been evident in the current study and Fig.…”

Section: Terrain Analyses For Landforms Susceptibility Waterlogging mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monitoring and assessing waterlogged and salt-affected areas in the Eastern Nile Delta region, Egypt, using remotely sensed multi-temporal data and GIS

Arnous

Green

2015

J Coast Conserv

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Waterlogged and salt-affected soils are serious environmental hazard indicators for wasteland problems in arid and semi-arid regions of the World. Similarly human activities in agricultural and urban sustainable developments have also led to the development of waterlogging and subsequent salinization of soils leading to many geo-environmental problems. Thus, it is important to be able to monitor, assess and map waterlogged and salt-affected areas at an early stage to develop an effective soil reclamation programme that helps to reduce and prevent a future increase in areas of wasteland. Remote sensing and GIS tools and techniques have been found to outperform more traditional methods for assessing the impact of soil salinity and waterlogging, thereby providing extremely useful, informative, and professional rapid assessment techniques for monitoring and accurate mapping and the quantification of waterlogged areas and salt-affected soils. This study applies digital image processing and GIS tools to monitor, assess, and map the waterlogged and salt-affected areas, to establish the main causes that lead to widespread wastelands, and to suggest approaches to mitigation in the eastern Nile Delta region in Egypt. Multi-temporal Landsat 5, 7 and 8 data for 1984, 2000, 2006 and 2013 and ASTER GDEM were selected to monitor, assess and map the waterlogged and salt-affected areas, and to determine and map the rate of change of land-use/land-cover, the status of wasteland, and the use of geomorphological terrain analyses based on enhanced digital images processing and field verification. Image band combinations, PCA, change detection, and image classification techniques, together with many indices such as NDVI, NDSI, NDWI and NDBI were applied, together with statistical analysis, to construct various thematic and spatial distribution change maps of the wasteland hazard indicators. Spatial distribution maps of waterlogging, salt-affected areas, permanent and temporarily waterlogged areas, surface changes, and their rate of change in addition to integrated relationships between terrain analyses, water table, depth to water and landform maps over a timespan of 29 years based on the analysis and interpretation results of image processing, field investigation and ancillary geological and hydrogeological data. The results reveal that changes to land-cover caused by human activities -particularly irrigated agriculture and land reclamation as well as urban expansion -will lead to a serious deterioration in the environment through waterlogging and salinization presenting future difficulties for any sustainable development of the study area. In addition; the existence of natural factors such as areas of low-lying land, topographic depressions, and rising water tables will increase the threat of waterlogging and salinization. It is concluded that it is essential for planners and decision makers to seriously consider taking appropriate action now concerning the recommended mitigation measurements from this study to avoid serious future...

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“…Moreover, for one-third of the 23 Caribbean island nations listed in their inventory, information requests went unanswered, resulting in the use of reports from the 1970s and early 1980s, or in the case of Turks and Caicos Islands, simply listing 110 wetland sites ( Scott & Carbonell, 1986 ). Human population growth and land development have since resulted in losses of Caribbean wetlands ( Bacon, 1987 ; Juman & Ramsewak, 2013 ) and the effects on Caribbean birds are largely unknown but of growing concern ( Latta, 2012 ; Mugica et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Cañizares

Reed

2020

PeerJ

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Despite being geographically central to the Atlantic Americas Flyway for migratory birds, the Caribbean is often overlooked or underappreciated when addressing the conservation of North American shorebirds. To our knowledge, this is the first Caribbean-wide assessment of shorebird use in the region. We analyzed 211,013 shorebird species observations in the insular Caribbean from 2010–2019, representing 78,794 eBird checklists and cumulative total of 2.1 million shorebirds of 45 species. We conclude that priority areas for shorebird conservation include Humedal Sur de Pinar del Río (Humedal Sur de Los Palacios) in Cuba, and Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic as they each likely support more than 20,000 shorebirds annually, and they host large abundances of geographic populations for particular taxa. Specifically, the former site hosts >10% of Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus griseus/hendersoni), and >1% of Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola cynosurae) and Wilson’s Plovers (Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia), while the latter site supports large numbers of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus). We also identified at least 15 additional sites that likely cross the 1% population threshold for one or more shorebird taxa. These sites may qualify for special international designations such as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas or as part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network; 11 of the 17 sites we identified do not hold either of these titles. Data on subspecific or geographic distributions of three species, Snowy Plover (C. nivosus), Black-necked Stilt, and Killdeer (C. vociferous), are insufficient to reveal if the sites with the highest abundances were mostly comprised of Caribbean populations or migrants, but the limited information suggests that they also likely exceed 1% thresholds on several islands. Based on our results, we recommend more extensive systematic surveys of shorebirds in the Caribbean, including research on turnover rates and movements between islands, as well as assimilation of shorebird survey data not yet included in the eBird portal.

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Land cover changes in the Caroni Swamp Ramsar Site, Trinidad (1942 and 2007): implications for management

Cited by 17 publications

References 10 publications

The Contribution of Mangrove Expansion to Salt Marsh Loss on the Texas Gulf Coast

The Contribution of Mangrove Expansion to Salt Marsh Loss on the Texas Gulf Coast

Monitoring and assessing waterlogged and salt-affected areas in the Eastern Nile Delta region, Egypt, using remotely sensed multi-temporal data and GIS

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

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