Mangroves are a globally important ecosystem subject to significant anthropogenic and climate impacts. Tidally submerged forests and those that occur in arid and semi-arid regions are particularly susceptible to sea level rise or are growing at the margins of their their ecophysiological limits. The spatial extent of these types of mangroves over broad scales are typically poorly documented as their structural and environmental characteristics make them difficult to detect using remote sensing models. This study utilised the entire Landsat 8 satellite collection between January 2014 and June 2021. A new cloud-based time-series method was used that accounts for tidal variance in detecting mangrove areas that are periodically inundated and have historically been difficult to detect with traditional remote sensing methods. A habitat area model was derived for remote North-western Australia and detected an additional 32% (76,048 hectares) of mangroves that were previously undocumented. The accuracy of the model was assessed within the distinct geomorphic zones of the region through visual validation from high-resolution imagery. See accompanying report for full methodology: Hickey, S.M.; Radford, B. Turning the Tide on Mapping Marginal Mangroves with Multi-Dimensional Space–Time Remote Sensing. Remote Sens. 2022, 14, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143365

Mangroves are a globally important ecosystem subject to significant anthropogenic and climate impacts. Tidally submerged forests and those that occur in arid and semi-arid regions are particularly susceptible to sea level rise or are growing at the margins of their their ecophysiological limits. The spatial extent of these types of mangroves over broad scales are typically poorly documented as their structural and environmental characteristics make them difficult to detect using remote sensing models. This study utilised the entire Landsat 8 satellite collection between January 2014 and June 2021. A new cloud-based time-series method was used that accounts for tidal variance in detecting mangrove areas that are periodically inundated and have historically been difficult to detect with traditional remote sensing methods. A habitat area model was derived for remote North-western Australia and detected an additional 32% (76,048 hectares) of mangroves that were previously undocumented. The accuracy of the model was assessed within the distinct geomorphic zones of the region through visual validation from high-resolution imagery. See accompanying report for full methodology: Hickey, S.M.; Radford, B. Turning the Tide on Mapping Marginal Mangroves with Multi-Dimensional Space–Time Remote Sensing. Remote Sens. 2022, 14, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143365

The data was organised into four major regions (Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and South West). A database was created that documented key information. The Australian Heritage Commission's criteria for the Register of the National Estate was used to identify, document and assess mangals in Western Australia, so that their natural and cultural values could be documented and afforded the appropriate management and protection. The study identified 363 significant mangal sites on the Western Australian coastline, forty-eight of which are already listed on the RNE with an additional 79 being nominated. Furthermore, this investigation concluded that another 41 sites met the RNE criteria thresholds and have thus been recommended for nomination.

Permanent plots were established in mangrove forests along the arid coast of the Pilbara region to enable long-term measurements of trunk growth, net biomass production and tree survival. Plots were located near Dampier, at Port Headland, in the Bay of Rest (Exmouth Gulf) and in Mangrove Bay (Cape Range National Park) and were chosen to encompass most of the important geomorphological settings in which mangrove forests occur in the Pilbara region. At each location, three to four permanent plots were established in canopy forests of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora stylosa, the dominant mangrove tree species in the region. All trees in each plot were tagged and measured. Where seedlings occurred in the understorey, they were also tagged to follow their growth and survival. Permanent study plots were established to:1. carry out long-term observational and experimental studies in the region and2. collect data to compare arid zone mangroves with the more studied, mangrove forests of the north eastern Australian humid tropics. This research was a component of the project: "The ecology of arid zone mangroves in northwestern Australia". The project was developed around the working hypothesis that regional mangrove forest structure and growth, mangrove-based food chains and soil biogeochemistry are strongly regulated by aridity. Research was designed to provide scientific information necessary to assess current and potential impacts of human activities on mangroves, including recovery from oil spills, heavy metal stress, changes in soil salinities from salt pond construction and sea level rise.Other components of the project include experiments to measure leaf fall and degradation within these forests and the determination of soil characteristics, including particle size, dissolved and particulate nutrients, salinity and heavy metal content, and microbial parameters such as bacterial sulfite reduction at each site.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2014.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2014.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005.

Mangroves and Mangrove Birds of Western Australia . Eighty- three blocks of mangroves were visited in Western Australia from Cambridge Gulf to Shark Bay between 1973 and 1982.The vegetation and substrate at each site are described. Twenty-two species of bird were found to be confined to mangroves or limited to them for at least part of their range. For each species, data are given on distribution, status, ecology, voice, food, breeding, colour of unfeathered parts, and for some species notes on geographic variation and taxonomy.

This polygon spatial dataset describes the mangrove communities for Darwin Harbour and its environs and was surveyed at a mapping scale of 1:25 000. The associated report notes an area of approximately 20,400 hectares of mangroves in Darwin Harbour and describes ten main mangrove associations or communities. The data provides a basis for identifying the extent and distribution of mangrove communities for Darwin Harbour and its environs.