Jasper Raijmakers and Shamyi Lanjouw focus on new analysis and collaborative initiatives on mangrove restoration for Bonaire. For full article, go to DCNA.
Since 2020, the Mangrove Maniacs have planted over 1500 mangroves alongside the southwest coast of Bonaire. A brand new collaborative undertaking with Van Corridor Larenstein College of Utilized Sciences monitored and mapped these newly planted mangroves. A wholesome fringing mangrove forest will present new habitat, nursery, and foraging grounds in addition to a significant line of coastal protection for the southern wetlands.
IMPORTANCE OF MANGROVES: Worldwide, mangroves turn out to be extra essential every day because of the threats of local weather change and sea degree rising. Sadly, Bonaire is not any exception to those threats. Mangroves present a number of ecosystem items and companies (EGS). One of many major EGS is coastal safety on account of their capability to attenuate waves, forestall erosion and enhance sedimentation. Moreover, they’re essential for his or her capability to retailer blue carbon, which is carbon saved in coastal and marine ecosystems. Mangroves sequestrate and retailer extra carbon per unit space than tropical rainforests on account of their woody prop roots and dense above and belowground biomass. Additionally, they’ve a excessive biodiversity, function a fish and chicken nursery, and supply alternatives for ecotourism.
RESEARCH: Lately, Jasper Raijmakers, an undergraduate from the Worldwide Forest and Nature Administration program of Van Corridor Larenstein College of Utilized Sciences, labored with the Mangrove Maniacs to map and monitor the planting websites alongside the southwest coast, in addition to evaluate and consider two mangrove restoration methods. For all giant planting websites, the numbers of alive, lifeless and tagged purple and black mangrove outplants have been counted in a grid and offered in a warmth map (an instance might be seen beneath).
To go with [sic; complement] the maps, the success fee of the usual outplanting mangrove restoration approach was in contrast towards the thesis work of pupil Shamyi Lanjouw, a WUR MSc Forest and Nature Conservation pupil, who was conducting her thesis on mangrove restoration with using BESE-elements®. BESE-elements® are biodegradable 3D constructions that provide structural stability for intertidal vegetation. Curiously, utilizing each methods discovered excessive survival charges and statistically talking there was no vital distinction between the relative progress charges between the 2 strategies. The implications of this present that, on this specific case, investing in further restoration materials just isn’t more practical than utilizing conventional strategies.
IMPACT ON FUTURE: These maps can be a significant administration device for mangrove restoration sooner or later. Utilizing these maps, land space managers can rapidly entry an summary of the massive planting websites, in addition to have data wanted to assist monitoring of the outplants, observe the undertaking’s progress, in addition to assist in figuring out future planting websites. [. . .]
For extra data and full studies by Jasper Raijmakers and Shamyi Lanjouw, see https://dcnanature.org/mangrove-restoration-research/