Using remote sensing to study mangroves spatial dynamics under increased nitrogen availability and lower salinity conditions

The impact of a strong change in the hydrologic conditions of an impoundment in the Indian River Lagoon (FL) dominated by Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) has been monitored through field campaigns and remote sensing data analysis. The management solution adopted since the spring of 2009 to reduce the number of noxious insects involved pumping estuarine water in the spring and summer seasons. Satellite and airborne data with medium to high spatial resolution have been used to perform a change detection analysis and study the evolution of the spatial distribution of mangrove trees. Empirical relations of vegetation indexes with field data collected over time have been determined, and specifically the correlation with leaf production, branch length increment, soil moisture and salinity, soil NH4 concentration and nitrification/denitrification processes. The field data had already shown how locally the higher nitrogen availability and the lower soil salinity increased Black mangrove growth mainly in areas with dwarf and sparse mangrove cover. The use of high spatial resolution remote sensing has been of key importance to extend this result at the impoundment scale, showing how mangroves expanded overtime.