Mangrove removal exacerbates estuarine infilling through landscape-scale bio-morphodynamic feedbacks

Changes in upstream land-use have significantly transformed downstream coastal ecosystems around the globe. Restoration of coastal ecosystems often focuses on local-scale processes, thereby overlooking landscape-scale interactions that can ultimately determine restoration outcomes. Here we use an id...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2023-11, Vol.14 (1), p.7310-7310, Article 7310
Main Authors: Xie, Danghan, Schwarz, Christian, Kleinhans, Maarten G., Bryan, Karin R., Coco, Giovanni, Hunt, Stephen, van Maanen, Barend
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/158/852
704/172/4081
Coastal ecosystems
Coastal environments
Coastal morphology
Deforestation
Ecosystem restoration
Ecosystems
Estuaries
Estuarine ecosystems
Humanities and Social Sciences
Land use
Mangroves
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sediments
Strategic management
Trapping
Upstream
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Summary:Changes in upstream land-use have significantly transformed downstream coastal ecosystems around the globe. Restoration of coastal ecosystems often focuses on local-scale processes, thereby overlooking landscape-scale interactions that can ultimately determine restoration outcomes. Here we use an idealized bio-morphodynamic model, based on estuaries in New Zealand, to investigate the effects of both increased sediment inputs caused by upstream deforestation following European settlement and mangrove removal on estuarine morphology. Our results show that coastal mangrove removal initiatives, guided by knowledge on local-scale bio-morphodynamic feedbacks, cannot mitigate estuarine mud-infilling and restore antecedent sandy ecosystems. Unexpectedly, removal of mangroves enhances estuary-scale sediment trapping due to altered sedimentation patterns. Only reductions in upstream sediment supply can limit estuarine muddification. Our study demonstrates that bio-morphodynamic feedbacks can have contrasting effects at local and estuary scales. Consequently, human interventions like vegetation removal can lead to counterintuitive responses in estuarine landscape behavior that impede restoration efforts, highlighting that more holistic management approaches are needed. Upstream land-use changes are transforming coastal environments around the globe. Mangrove removal aims at restoring estuarine ecosystems but counterintuitively enhances sediment trapping. More holistic management approaches are needed.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-42733-1