Seaward expansion of mangrove wetlands in the Dafeng Estuary, Beibu Gulf from 1988 to 2022

Yi Chen, Zhijun Dai*, Xuefei Mei, Hu Huang, Mingquan Cai, Yangyang Xi, Ran Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite their vital ecological and economic significances, global mangrove ecosystems have experienced substantial loss over the past half-century. This study maps the dynamic changes of mangrove wetlands in the Dafeng Estuary (DFE) of the Beibu Gulf over 1988–2022 on the basis of multi-source remote sensing images and in situ hydrological data through machine learning technique. The results revealed an increase of 92.84 % in mangrove area from 1988 to 2022, with an annual expansion of 15.31 ha/yr. Mangrove area in West Estuary (WE) and Upper Estuary (UE) respectively increased by 6.36 ha/yr and 9.07 ha/yr, while those in the East Estuary (EE) declined by 0.44 ha/yr and nearly disappeared in 1998. Meanwhile, mangrove shoreline expanded seaward at an overall rate of 5.41 m/yr, with that of WE and UE respectively expanding seaward by 6.15 m/yr and 2.00 m/yr while EE retreating landward by 0.24 m/yr. Southwest tidal currents transported maritime sediment and wave induced resuspended sediment to WE while tidal currents in UE transported sediment to the upstream, which enhanced tidal flat elevation and provided room for the seaward migration of mangroves. Southwest wave was responsible for mangrove retreat in EE. Local sea-level rise rate had not significantly threatened mangrove expansion in the DFE, while aquaculture was the main cause for mangrove loss in DFE. This study underscores the critical influence of tide and wave forcing on mangrove expansion/retreat and provides valuable insights for mangrove conservation and restoration.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107655
JournalMarine Environmental Research
Volume213
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2026

Keywords

  • Dafeng estuary
  • Estuarine hydrodynamics
  • Machine learning technique
  • Mangrove forests
  • Random forest algorithm
  • Sea level rise
  • Suspended sediment load

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