Drivers of Temporal Changes in Mangrove Vegetation Boundaries and Consequences for Land Use.

LARA, R.J..; COHEN, M.C.L.; SZLAFSZTEIN, C.

Mangrove Dynamics and Management in North Brazil. Ecological Studies

Springer

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2010; p. 127 - 140

Wetland structure is highly dependent on inundation dynamics, which is in turnbasically determined by basin topography and hydrological (fluvial and tidal)regime. Thus, a deep knowledge of the relationships among these factors isnecessary in order to evaluate the stability of wetlands. Models incorporating thisinformation can be useful to describe and predict the distribution of inundationdependentphysicochemical soil parameters and related shifts in vegetation structure,particularly in a highly dynamic, changing environment. A main target of suchmodels is the recognition of geobotanical patterns and their relationship with basintype, as well as the connections among the characteristics and distribution ofwetland vegetation units and the spatial patterns of inundation frequency and saltcontent of surface sediments along the estuarine salinity gradient. This involves theintegrated analysis of basin properties such as topography, inundation frequency,properties of adjoining water bodies, sediment and vegetation features. The informationso gained can be incorporated into the analysis of vegetation changes andderived modifications of land use, and applied to the development of correspondingmanagement scenarios.