PAST AND CURRENT MANGROVE DYNAMICS ON THE BRAGANÇA PENINSULA, NORTHERN BRAZIL Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades Marcelo Cancela Lisboa Cohen angefertigt am Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie innerhalb des Fachbereichs 2 der Universität Bremen 2003 Erster Gutachter: PD. Dr. Hermann Behling, ZMT an der Universität Bremen Zweiter Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Saint-Paul, ZMT an der Universität Bremen Acknowledgement Special appreciation is expressed to PD Dr. Hermann Behling for supervising my thesis and to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Saint-Paul for offering excellent conditions in his working group at the Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie (ZMT) in Bremen (Germany). I am pleasure to acknowledge the support by PD Dr. Rubén Lara. He provided scientific assistance throughout the whole course of this work. I like to appreciate the assistance of Dipl. Ing. Andreas Hanning during the field work and the technical maintenance of the electronic equipment in Brazil. I also thank the members of the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology and Núcleo de Estudos Costeiros for the nice working atmosphere. This study was carried out as a part of the Brazilian-German Cooperaation Project MADAM and was financed by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) and the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) under the code 03F0154A. I thank the Deutscher Akademischer Austauch-Dienst (DAAD) for the scholarship support. i Contents Acknowledgements i List of Figures vi List of Tables viii Summary Zusammenfassung xi Resumo Chapter 1 ARE THE MANGROVES FROM BRAGANÇA PENINSULA REACTING TO THE RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES? _______________________________1 1.1 Introduction ___________________________________________________________________2 1.2 Objectives_____________________________________________________________________3 1.3 The Bragança Peninsula _________________________________________________________3 1.3.1 Location ___________________________________________________________________3 1.3.2 Geology and geomorphology ___________________________________________________3 1.3.3 Hydrology__________________________________________________________________4 1.3.4 Climate ____________________________________________________________________5 1.3.5 Vegetation__________________________________________________________________5 1.4 Methodology___________________________________________________________________5 1.4.1 Image processing ____________________________________________________________5 1.4.2 Elaboration of an Elevation Surface Model ________________________________________5 1.4.3 Vegetation survey____________________________________________________________6 1.4.4 Physicochemical parameters____________________________________________________6 1.4.5 Sediment cores ______________________________________________________________7 1.4.6 Radiocarbon data ____________________________________________________________7 1.4.7 Pollen analysis ______________________________________________________________7 1.5 Results________________________________________________________________________7 1.5.1 The inundation frequency controlling the vegetation distribution on the Bragança Peninsula__7 1.5.2 Vegetation changes in the central peninsula________________________________________8 1.5.3 Coastline vegetation changes ___________________________________________________9 1.5.4 Stratigraphy and radiocarbon data from the Bragança Peninsula ________________________9 1.5.4.1 Estuarine mud progradational sequence ( S2) ___________________________________9 1.5.5 Model of Bragança mangrove development_______________________________________10 1.5.6 RSL changes at the Bragança Peninsula between 5100 and 1000 yr BP _________________11 1.5.7 RSL changes at the Bragança Peninsula during the last 1000 yr BP ____________________12 1.6 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________12 Chapter 2 DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL APPLIED TO MANGROVE COAST ANALYSIS, AMAZON REGION, BRAZIL _______________________________14 Abstract ________________________________________________________________________15 2.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________15 2.2 Methodological considerations ___________________________________________________16 ii 2.2.1 Study area _________________________________________________________________16 2.2.2 Tidal level measures _________________________________________________________16 2.2.3 Topographic survey _________________________________________________________16 2.2.4 Elaboration of an Elevation Surface Model _______________________________________17 2.3 Results and discussion__________________________________________________________19 2.3.1 Tidal inundation in the “Furo do Chato” area______________________________________19 2.3.2 Tidal inundation on the Bragança Peninsula ______________________________________20 2.4 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________22 Chapter 3 MANGROVE INUNDATION AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS FROM A GIS PERSPECTIVE ______________________________________________________23 Abstract ________________________________________________________________________24 3.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________24 3.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________26 3.3 Material and methods __________________________________________________________26 3.3.1 Chemical and physicochemical parameters _______________________________________26 3.3.2 Elaboration of Surface Elevation Model _________________________________________27 3.4 Results and discussion__________________________________________________________28 Chapter 4 TEMPORAL CHANGES OF MANGROVE VEGETATION BOUNDARIES IN AMAZÔNIA: APPLICATION OF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES _______________________________________________________31 Abstract ________________________________________________________________________32 4.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________32 4.2 Material and methods __________________________________________________________34 4.2.1 Study area _________________________________________________________________34 4.2.2 Field work_________________________________________________________________34 4.2.3 Image processing ___________________________________________________________35 4.3 Results and discussion__________________________________________________________35 4.3.1 Geobotanical units __________________________________________________________35 4.3.2 Coastline vegetation changes __________________________________________________36 4.3.3 Vegetation changes in the central peninsula_______________________________________40 4.4 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________43 Chapter 5 STUDIES ON HOLOCENE MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS OF THE BRAGANÇA PENINSULA IN NORTHEASTERN PARA, BRAZIL __________45 Abstract ________________________________________________________________________46 5.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________46 5.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________47 5.2.1 Location __________________________________________________________________47 5.2.2. Environmental characteristics of the Bragança Peninsula ____________________________48 5.2.3 Human impact on vegetation __________________________________________________49 iii 5.2.4 Study sites_________________________________________________________________49 5.3 Material and methods __________________________________________________________50 5.3.1 Field sampling _____________________________________________________________50 5.3.2 Pollen analysis _____________________________________________________________50 5.4 Results_______________________________________________________________________51 5.4.1 Stratigraphy _______________________________________________________________51 5.4.2 Radiocarbon dates and sedimentation rates _______________________________________51 5.4.3 Description of modern pollen rain ______________________________________________51 5.4.4. Description of fossil pollen results _____________________________________________55 5.4.4.1. Bosque de Avicennia ____________________________________________________55 5.4.4.2 Campo Salgado _________________________________________________________56 5.4.4.3 Furo do Chato __________________________________________________________60 5.5 Interpretation and discussion ____________________________________________________60 5.5.1 General background on Brazilian sea-level changes ________________________________60 5.5.2 Holocene relative sea-level and the development of the mangrove ecosystem ____________61 5.6 Holocene mangrove dynamics ___________________________________________________64 5.7 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________65 Chapter 6 MODEL ON HOLOCENE MANGROVE DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES ON BRAGANÇA PENINSULA (NORTH BRAZIL)__67 Abstract ________________________________________________________________________68 6.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________68 6.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________69 6.3 Data sources __________________________________________________________________69 6.3.1 Topographic survey _________________________________________________________69 6.3.2 Sediment cores _____________________________________________________________69