Mangrove Conservation

Summary
Mangroves are extremely important because they provide a wide variety of ecosystem services. Despite these benefits, these ecosystems are increasingly threatened, in part by human activities. This highlights the need to understand the drivers of mangrove loss to implement better conservation strategies in order to maintain the goods and services provided by these ecosystems. Using a variety of tools—including Landsat images, satellite environmental data, and spatial models—this research seeks to identify natural and anthropogenic drivers of changes in mangrove cover in the central Caribbean of Panama. Furthermore, the study intends to assess the vulnerability of mangrove ecosystems to each threat and investigate strategies for prioritizing conservation efforts. The findings of this research are expected to have implications for the management and conservation of mangrove ecosystems.

Leads: Jorge Manuel Morales-Saldaña, Hector Guzman, Brian Leung

Publications: Hoyos-Santillan, J., Chavarría, J., Castillo-Bethancourt, L. M., Vargas, J. E., Sanjur, A., Morales, J., Leung, B., Candanedo, I., Ibáñez, A., Manzane-Pinzon, E., González-Mahecha, E., Mola-Yudego, B. 2025. Soil carbon stock densities in mangrove and forested wetland ecosystems of Panama. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05877-x.