What impact does climate change have on global mangrove forests, which play a vital role in coastal ecosystems due to their ability to survive in hostile environments that most trees can’t survive? This is what a recent study published in Nature Geoscience hopes to address as a team of researchers conducted the first global investigation into how mangroves are impacted by climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña. This study has the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, and the public better understand climate impacts on the world’s ecosystems and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.
For the study, the researchers analyzed satellite data obtained from 2001 to 2020 to ascertain the global impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on global mangroves. As noted, this is a first-time global examination regarding how mangroves are impacted by climate, as previous studies have only explored this on local scales. In the end, the researchers found that more than half of the mangroves analyzed for the study encountered drastic changes in growth patterns and leaf area, with the latter increasing during El Niño but decreasing during La Niña.
“Mangroves are one of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet, yet they exist in a delicate balance with their environment,” said Dr. Daniel Friess, who is a Cochran Family Professor at Tulane University and a co-author on the study. “A better understanding of how this unique habitat is influenced by changing environmental conditions will help us conserve and restore them, while supporting the coastal communities that rely on them.”
As noted, mangroves play a crucial role in protecting coastal ecosystems, as they can survive in extra salty water. Not only do they provide habitats for a myriad of marine communities, but they also serve as carbon storage, which reduces the amount of cardon being released into the atmosphere. Therefore, their conservation is of the utmost importance if we wish to mitigate the effects of global climate change.
What new connections between climate change and mangrove ecosystems will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Nature Geoscience, EurekAlert!
Featured Image Credit: Daniel Friess, Tulane University