The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Master's Projects and Capstones Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 5-16-2014 Evaluation of Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration Success in Southeast Asia Penluck Laulikitnont University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Laulikitnont, Penluck, "Evaluation of Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration Success in Southeast Asia" (2014). Master's Projects and Capstones. 12. https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/12 This Project/Capstone is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Projects and Capstones by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This Master’s Project EVALUATION OF MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION SUCCESS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA by Penluck Laulikitnont is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: Master of Science in Environmental Management at the University of San Francisco Submitted: Received: ……………………………………….. ……………………………………….. Penluck Laulikitnont Date Gretchen Coffman, Ph. D. Date CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Definition of Mangrove .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Geographical Distribution of Mangroves ......................................................................... 2 1.3 Importance of Mangrove Ecosystem................................................................................ 2 1.4 Degradation of Mangrove Ecosystems ............................................................................ 3 1.4.1 Mangrove Ecosystem Distribution in Southeast Asia .............................................. 3 1.5 Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration .................................................................................... 4 1.6 Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................ 5 2 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Plantation Approach ......................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) Approach ....................................................... 7 2.2.1 Six Steps for Successful EMR .................................................................................. 8 3 METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 9 4 PLANNING FOR SUCCESSFUL MANGROVE RESTORATION ................................... 10 4.1 Importance of Planning .................................................................................................. 10 4.1.1 Defining Goals and Objectives ............................................................................... 11 4.1.2 Ecological Modeling and Key Parameters .............................................................. 11 4.1.3 Dealing with Uncertainty ........................................................................................ 12 4.1.4 Restoration Design, Feasibility Analysis, and Experimentation ............................ 12 4.1.5 Implementation, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management ...................................... 12 4.2 Important Factors Affecting Successful Mangrove Restoration .................................... 14 4.2.1 Hydrologic Regime ................................................................................................. 14 4.2.2 Zonation .................................................................................................................. 16 4.2.3 Soil and Substrates .................................................................................................. 17 ii 4.2.4 Salinity .................................................................................................................... 17 4.2.5 Tidal Fluctuation and Wave Energy ....................................................................... 18 4.2.6 Propagule Availability and Nursery Technique ...................................................... 18 4.2.7 Ecological Knowledge and Community Participation ............................................ 19 4.2.8 Monitoring .............................................................................................................. 20 5 PLANTATION ATTEMPTS ................................................................................................ 22 6 EMR ATTEMPTS ................................................................................................................. 25 7 MAIN FINDINGS ................................................................................................................. 28 7.1 Lack of Site Understanding ............................................................................................ 29 7.2 Lack of Documentation .................................................................................................. 29 7.3 Lack of Monitoring Data ................................................................................................ 30 8 MANAGEMENT RECOMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 31 8.1 Development of a Monitoring Protocol for Southeast Asia ........................................... 31 8.1.1 Level 1: Transect Based Survey ............................................................................. 32 8.1.2 Level 2: Permanent Plots ........................................................................................ 39 8.1.3 Level 3: Sedimentation Monitoring ........................................................................ 48 8.1.4 Photo Monitoring .................................................................................................... 52 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 56 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Mangroves located in the protected areas (PA) ............................................................... 4 Table 2. The advantages and disadvantages of the EMR approach ............................................... 8 Table 3. Inundation classification of mangrove species in Southeast Asia ................................. 15 Table 4. Comparison of fish abundance before and after EMR in the central east coast of Florida ................................................................................................................................... 26 Table 5. Equipment checklist for fieldwork ................................................................................. 33 Table 6. Codes used to record vegetation aerial percent cover .................................................... 41 Table 7. Height class for vegetation height .................................................................................. 41 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Latitudinal distribution of mangrove forests around the world ...................................... 2 Figure 2. Major causes of mangrove degradation in Asia ............................................................. 3 Figure 3. Species diversity of mangrove restoration projects pre- and post-1982 ......................... 6 Figure 4. Ecological planning process for ecosystem restoration projects .................................. 13 Figure 5. Typical mangrove zonation of all mangrove ecosystem .............................................. 16 Figure 6. Mangrove species planted in Ermita, Dumangas in 2006 ............................................ 24 Figure 7. Changes in mangrove area in three districts of Phang Nga, Thailand .......................... 25 Figure 8. Mangrove cover increased from 3.7% to 94.7% within five year of project implementation ..................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 9. Time sequence over 78 months of EMR project in West Lake, Florida ...................... 28 Figure 10. Nine canopy cover reading points .............................................................................. 40 v ABSTRACT Many restoration efforts have been implemented recently to offset the rapid degradation of mangrove ecosystem worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia where the largest area of mangrove ecosystem can be found. Two primary approaches used for mangrove ecosystem restoration include the plantation approach and the ecological mangrove restoration (EMR) approach. Monoculture plantation is the most common technique used in plantation approach, which usually results in low species diversity. The EMR approach on the other hand, focuses on correcting the hydrology of restoration sites first. Planting can be used as part of the adaptive management process if mangrove seedlings and propagules do not recolonize naturally. The lack of site understanding in project planning, the lack of project documentation, and the