The Role of Remote Sensing and GIS for Locating Suitable Mangrove Plantation Sites along the Southern Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast

Abstract

<p align="justify"> <span style="font-family:Verdana;">This paper investigated a methodology for locating suitable sites for establishing mangrove plantations along the south Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast based on Geological characteristics, geomorphology and discharge of drainage effluents as primary sitting criteria. Remote sensing Satellite imagery and digital elevation models were interpreted to determine most of the parameters, the rest were measured in field.</span><span> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">In the study, it was found that some healthy mangrove stands now exist along the Red Sea coast near the city of Jizan although many stands have been destroyed in recent years due to rapid development, infilling and over-grazing and use of the mangroves as fuel. Remote sensing satellite imagery was used to map exiting Mangrove stands of different densities along the study area. The study determined that mangrove stands are primarily concentrated in the southern part of the study area and that they are sparsely found northward. Interpretation of A Landsat Thematic Mapper panchromatic band image and DEM showing that red sea coast along the study area are mainly covered by fans of ten drainage basins where the Flood potentiality of these basins was determined. The study was able to determine that three areas, which have a moderate to low flash flood potential, have the necessary environmental elements necessary to support mangroves. One, in particular, would be the best site to establish a mangrove plantation project.</span> </p

Sediment characteristics and microfacies analysis of Jizan supratidal sabkha, Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia

“…Jizan city is characterized by rainfall storms which vary in intensity and duration. The southern part of the city is sometimes exposed to the risk of flash flood due to the heavy rainfall intensity which may happen during the rainy storms, and the peak runoff flows from the East towards West (Elsebaie et al 2013). Abdelrahman (1997) found that the average temperature in Jizan area is 23°C, the annual precipitation is 1.3 cm, and the average relative humidity varies between 45 and 65 % in winter and 25 and 40 % in summer.…”

Assessment of heavy metal contamination in water, sediments, and Mangrove plant of Al-Budhai region, Red Sea Coast, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Some researchers have reported about the mangrove forest cultivation and identifying the suitable location around the coastal region of Saudi Arabia [16]. Researchers have used the modern methods, including GIS and remote sensing for identifying the appropriate places for mangrove culture [17]. Elhag et al [12] studied on species richness and endanger analysis of Avicenna marina in and around coastal areas of Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.…”

Investigating Environmental Factors for Locating Mangrove Ex-situ Conservation Zones Using GIS Spatial Techniques and the Logistic Regression Algorithm in Mangrove Forests in Iran

“…In terms of particle size distribution, mangroves demand fine-grained soils [6]. The majority of the study area is characterized by sandy and silty-textured soils.…”

“…According to the results of Elsebaie, although many worldwide projects have been developed to protect mangrove ecosystems, there has not been much success in performing these plans [6]. One of the reasons for these failures is wrongly locating areas suitable for mangrove plantations because locating the proper place for mangrove natural forests is an important factor in protecting and developing natural mangrove forests.…”

“…In this regard, statistical algorithms such as the logistic regression modeling approach in conjunction with GIS spatial techniques is of potential importance for estimating occurrence probability of mangrove stands. The implementation of spatially explicit probabilistic models has attracted noticeable research interest in recent years [5][6][7], in which the land is evaluated in terms of environmental and climatic factors (explanatory variables) that are necessary to support the establishment and maintenance of a mangrove plantation program. Integration of GIS spatial analysis and statistical modeling techniques can help managers and decision-makers in identifying suitable sites for mangrove plantations at minimum possible cost [8].…”