2.1 Introduction

Conserving mangrove ecosystems is critical to sustaining and securing growing tropical coastal communities in an era of global change. Mangrove ecosystems provide a diverse array of ecosystem services, such as protection from coastal storms, shoreline stabilization, sequestration of organic carbon, and support of coastal fisheries, but they are also among the most threatened by coastal development and climate change driven sea level rise.

Due to their existence within the intertidal zone, the ecosystem processes and factors that shape mangroves are spatially and temporally complex. Hydrological and sedimentary processes are known to strongly influence the character and health of mangrove forests. Unfortunately, we lack a comprehensive across-site explanation of how these factors control mangrove spatial ecology, which in part precludes effective mangrove conservation. However, the recent widespread production of in situ mangrove soil conditions and forest structure data, as well as unexploited advances in remote sensing, allow for novel approaches to address this complex problem.

Thus, the overarching goal of my doctoral research is to elucidate how hydrological and sedimentary (hydrogeomorphological) processes shape mangrove communities. I will do this by constructing a transparent database of field-based measurements of mangrove forest structure and soil conditions as well as employing remote sensing to quantify and monitor landscape-scale hydrogeomorphological processes in mangroves. Taken together, these two approaches will allow me to understand how both site specific and landscape scale processes shape mangrove communities.

As outlined below, my research is centered around four key objectives. First, I will identify key opportunities and challenges for mapping of mangrove hydrogeomorphology via remote sensing. Second, I will compile a global database of in situ data on mangrove species composition, forest structure and soil conditions. Third, I will couple remotely sensed metrics of hydrogeomorphology with in situ forest structure data to explain variation in ecosystem carbon stocks as well as mangrove stand dynamics. Finally, I will leverage both field sampling and remote sensing to investigate die-off of mangroves in Pak Phanang, Thailand, which may be experiencing shifting environmental conditions that exemplify future pressures from sea level rise.