Hurricanes are limiting the mangrove canopy heights in the Gulf of Mexico

Marcelo C L Cohen; Qiang Yao; Adriana V de Souza; Kam-Biu Liu; Luiz C R Pessenda

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172284

Hurricanes are limiting the mangrove canopy heights in the Gulf of Mexico

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jun 1:927:172284. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172284. Epub 2024 Apr 6.

Authors

Marcelo C L Cohen¹, Qiang Yao², Adriana V de Souza³, Kam-Biu Liu⁴, Luiz C R Pessenda⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA; Laboratory of Coastal Dynamics, Graduate Program of Geology and Geochemistry, Federal University of Pará, Brazil Federal University of Pará. Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01 - Guamá. CEP, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil. Electronic address: mcohen@ufpa.br.
² Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA.
³ Laboratory of Coastal Dynamics, Graduate Program of Geology and Geochemistry, Federal University of Pará, Brazil Federal University of Pará. Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01 - Guamá. CEP, 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA; Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA.
⁵ University of São Paulo, CENA/(14)C Laboratory, Av. Centenário 303, 13400-000 Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.

PMID: 38588743
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172284

Abstract

Mangrove canopy height (MCH) has been described as a leading characteristic of mangrove forests, protecting coastal economic interests from hurricanes. Meanwhile, winter temperature has been considered the main factor controlling the MCH along subtropical coastlines. However, the MCH in Cedar Key, Florida (∼12 m), is significantly higher than in Port Fourchon, Louisiana (∼2.5 m), even though these two subtropical locations have similar winter temperatures. Port Fourchon has been more frequently impacted by hurricanes than Cedar Key, suggesting that hurricanes may have limited the MCH in Port Fourchon rather than simply winter temperatures. This hypothesis was evaluated using novel high-resolution remote sensing techniques that tracked the MCH changes between 2002 and 2023. Results indicate that hurricanes were the limiting factor keeping the mean MCH at Port Fourchon to <1 m (2002-2013), as the absence of hurricane impacts between 2013 and 2018 allowed the mean MCH to increase by 60 cm despite the winter freezes in Jan/2014 and Jan/2018. Hurricanes Zeta (2020) and Ida (2021) caused a decrease in the mean MCH by 20 cm, breaking branches, defoliating the canopy, and toppling trees. The mean MCH (∼1.6 m) attained before Zeta and Ida has not yet been recovered as of August 2023 (∼1.4 m), suggesting a longer-lasting impact (>4 years) of hurricanes on mangroves than winter freezes (<1 year). The high frequency of hurricanes affecting mangroves at Port Fourchon has acted as a periodic "pruning," particularly of the tallest Avicennia trees, inhibiting their natural growth rates even during quiet periods following hurricane events (e.g., 12 cm/yr, 2013-2018). By contrast, the absence of hurricanes in Cedar Key (2000-2020) has allowed the MCH to reach 12 m (44-50 cm/yr), implying that, besides the winter temperature, the frequency and intensity of hurricanes are important factors limiting the MCH on their latitudinal range limits in the Gulf of Mexico.

Keywords: Drone; Global warming; Hurricane; Mangrove; Winter freeze.

Published by Elsevier B.V.

MeSH terms

Cyclonic Storms*
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Florida
Gulf of Mexico
Louisiana
Rhizophoraceae
Seasons
Wetlands*