Abstract

Mangroves are one of the productive and highly adaptive ecosystems on the Earth, and provide invaluable services to the coastal communities. Ecological and sustainable management of the mangrove ecosystem requires crucial knowledge of variability and dynamics over a time and space.  There are no reliable recent spatial extent estimates of mangroves or trend of coverage in West coast. The mapping from medium spatial resolution remote sensing data often leads to the underestimation of spatial extent. An attempt has been made to provide detailed information of mangroves species distribution using remote sensing data of high spatial resolution integrated with the other collateral field information through GIS. The coastline changes and the mangrove dynamics during 1989–2010 were assessed using supervised classifier technique provided the spatial distribution of mangrove species namely Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia caseolaris, Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia alba, and Kandelia candel with classification good accuracy. Delineation of mangroves at species wise records based on extensive field data will be invaluable for appropriate management (e.g. plantation, eco-tourism) and conservation measures for estuaries of Central Western Ghats. Mangroves play pivotal role in providing vital ecosystem goods and services, but are under threat due to anthropogenic activities, affecting habitat for specialised fauna and food resources for humans, birds and fish. This necessitates interventions of regulatory authorities to partner with the local communities in the restoration and conservation of mangrove habitats.  

Keywords: Mangroves, remote sensing, vegetation transition, estuaries, coastal management, species distribution