RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Modelling the effects of land use on mangroves in a RAMSAR site of Panamá
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.10.07.463581
DO 10.1101/2021.10.07.463581
A1 Juliana López-Angarita
A1 Juan M Diaz
A1 Alexander Tilley
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/10/09/2021.10.07.463581.abstract
AB The role of mangroves as pivotal providers of ecosystem services has been widely acknowledged. In Latin America, mangroves play an important role in traditional coastal livelihoods, but the growing economy of these nations demands the expansion of land for development, putting pressure in ecosystems such as mangroves. Here we examine the impact of land use activities on mangroves in the Gulf of Montijo, a RAMSAR site located in the Pacific coast of Panamá. Spatial information of land use was analysed, ground-truthed and classified into agriculture, aquaculture and coastal development, and subsequently ranked according to estimated level of impact on mangroves based on 27 interviews with local informants. We developed a spatially-referenced cumulative impact model of human activities on mangroves. Results showed that despite the protection status of the Gulf of Montijo, its mangrove forests are affected by localised human activities, dominated by agriculture. Given the importance of fishing for local livelihoods, evaluating the effects of agriculture, rice in particular, on mangroves and their associated fauna will be essential for the sustainable management of this RAMSAR site.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.