In 2004, shallow-water benthic habitats were mapped in Saipan Lagoon, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Since then, habitats in the lagoon have likely changed because of coral bleaching events and recent typhoons. Local resource managers requested an updated map to help better understand these habitat changes and to help inform their monitoring and management decisions. In response, we created an updated benthic habitat map for areas shallower than 30-meters inside the lagoon.

Habitat maps were created as part of a larger ecological assessment conducted by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Biogeography Program, for Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve (National Park Service). Aerial photographs were obtained for 2000 from the National Geodetic Survey, and were orthorectified by the Biogeography Program. A classification scheme was set up with 20 benthic habitat types, 19 land cover types, and 13 mangrove habitat types. For this map of seagrass and mangrove habitats during 1992 only the 3 seagrass, and 14 mangrove classification categories were used. These were mapped directly into a GIS system through visual interpretation of orthorectified aerial photographs.

Habitat maps were created as part of a larger ecological assessment conducted by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Biogeography Program, for Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve (National Park Service). Aerial photographs were obtained for 1988 from the National Geodetic Survey, and were orthorectified by the Biogeography Program. A classification scheme was set up with 20 benthic habitat types, 19 land cover types, and 13 mangrove habitat types. For this map of seagrass and mangrove habitats during 1988 only the 3 seagrass, and 14 mangrove classification categories were used. These were mapped directly into a GIS system through visual interpretation of orthorectified aerial photographs.

Habitat maps were created as part of a larger ecological assessment conducted by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Biogeography Program, for Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve (National Park Service). Aerial photographs were obtained for 1992 from the National Geodetic Survey, and were orthorectified by the Biogeography Program. A classification scheme was set up with 20 benthic habitat types, 19 land cover types, and 13 mangrove habitat types. For this map of seagrass and mangrove habitats during 1992 only the 3 seagrass, and 14 mangrove classification categories were used. These were mapped directly into a GIS system through visual interpretation of orthorectified aerial photographs.

This project will examine the status, diversity and condition of mangroves and freshwater habitats in the Torres Strait. This will provide a baseline against which future changes can be assessed and will also enable planning for adaptation to potential sea level rise/increased storm surge. The project builds on Torres Strait Islanders’ knowledge and understanding of mangrove habitats, with scientists working in partnership with Traditional Owners. This project will:,

This dataset provides estimates of the extent of mangrove loss, land cover change, and its anthropogenic or climatic drivers in three time periods: 2000-2005, 2005-2010, and 2010-2016. Landsat-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) anomalies were used to determine loss extent in each period. The drivers of mangrove loss were determined by examining land cover changes using a random forest machine learning technique that considered change from mangrove to wet soil, dry soil, and water at each loss pixel. A series of decision trees used several global-scale land-use datasets to identify the ultimate driver of the mangrove loss. Loss drivers include commodity production (agriculture, aquaculture), settlement, erosion, extreme climatic events, and non-productive conversion. Maps of loss extent per period, mangrove land cover changes, and loss drivers are provided for each of 39 mangrove holding nations.

Shared impacts and needs following Hurricanes Irma and Maria brought together two reserves to assess mangrove recovery, leading to more holistic decision-making strategies for mangrove restoration and adaptive management. The Project Within the NERR system, Rookery Bay and Jobos Bay are unique in being the only reserves with coastlines historically dominated by mangrove habitats. These reserves also experience a higher frequency of Category 3-5 hurricanes. While mangrove forests are adapted to frequent hurricane disturbance, the resilience of mangrove ecosystems is challenged by the cumulative effects of climate change, urbanization, and water management. Against these background stressors, major hurricanes may serve as tipping points for rapid ecosystem transformation of mangrove forests. The Mangrove Coast Collaborative project began in the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria and Irma as Jobos Bay and Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) jointly recognized the need to understand and enhance the resilience of their mangrove ecosystems and the surrounding communities in southeastern Puerto Rico and southwest Florida, respectively. The project's multi-disciplinary team achieved four main objectives, including: Identifying the spatial extent of the post-hurricane loss and recovery of mangrove habitat using satellite imagery; Assessing the relationships between hurricane impact and recovery in mangrove forests using field sampling; Representing the socio-ecological mangrove system at both reserves by generating a conceptual model of ecosystem services (ES) and an associated ES evidence library; and, Creating increased understanding of how managers make information-based decisions by conducting manager focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Collaborative engagements were a cornerstone of the project, with over 70 engagements conducted. User input was integrated into the development of products and was critical to the improvement of mapping products, the design of the field sampling campaign, and the development of a conceptual model of ecosystem services. Not only is the science generated during this project being used to aid management decisions and continued recovery efforts for the two reserves, the relationships and trust built among project participants serves as a platform for continued collaboration.

This dataset provides estimates of the extent of mangrove loss, land cover change, and its anthropogenic or climatic drivers in three time periods: 2000-2005, 2005-2010, and 2010-2016. Landsat-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) anomalies were used to determine loss extent in each period. The drivers of mangrove loss were determined by examining land cover changes using a random forest machine learning technique that considered change from mangrove to wet soil, dry soil, and water at each loss pixel. A series of decision trees used several global-scale land-use datasets to identify the ultimate driver of the mangrove loss. Loss drivers include commodity production (agriculture, aquaculture), settlement, erosion, extreme climatic events, and non-productive conversion. Maps of loss extent per period, mangrove land cover changes, and loss drivers are provided for each of 39 mangrove holding nations.

This shapefile compares the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005 to their location in 2014.

This shapefile compares the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005 to their location in 2014.