Bottom sediments affect Sonneratia mangrove forests in the prograding Mekong delta, Vietnam

William Nardin, University of Maryland Center For Environmental Sciences, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD, United States, Curtis E Woodcock, Boston University, Earth and Environment, Boston, MA, United States, Sergio Fagherazzi, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States and Nguyen Hoang Phong, UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE, HCM .CITY, Vietnam
Abstract:
Mangrove forests exert a strong influence on tropical deltas by trapping sediments discharged by rivers and by stabilizing the substrate with roots. Understanding the dynamics of mangroves is critical in order to assess the resilience of coastlines in a period of accelerated sea level rise. In this research, sediment samples, mangrove forest characteristics, and remote sensing data are used to investigate the relationship between mangroves and sediment substrate in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Our data show a significant correlation between percent of sand in bottom sediments and density of Sonneratia caseolaris forest. The robust relationship allows detection of substrate characteristics from vegetation attributes detected by remote sensing, despite the impenetrability of the forest canopy. The results presented herein suggest that a supply of sand from the river is important for the robustness of Sonneratia mangrove forests and for promoting mudflat colonization and canopy expansion.
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