Published

Analysis of coastal storm damage resistance in successional mangrove species Version 23

Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research https://doi.org/10.25850/nioz/7b.b.jb

Use of mangrove ecosystems for coastal flood protection requires reliable predictions of mangrove wave attenuation capacity, especially if this capacity lessens due to storm-induced forest damage. Quantifying and understanding the variation in drag forces on and mechanical properties of mangrove vegetation can improve assessment of mangrove protective capacity. We studied five mangrove species common in the subtropical Pearl River Delta, south China. The tested species range from typically landward-occurring to more seaward-occurring and pioneer species. We sampled across seven sites in the delta to study the impact of salinity on mechanical properties. We quantified strength and flexibility of branches (branch strength and flexibility related to branch diameter, Modulus of Rupture and Modulus of Elasticity), leaf strength (leaf attachment strength related to leaf size, and Leaf Mass per Area) and drag properties (drag force related to surface area and the drag coefficient). For all tested species, larger branch diameter resulted in higher mechanical strength. Larger leaf size resulted in larger peak pulling forces and larger branch surface area resulted in stronger drag forces. Notably, species that generally occur lower in the intertidal zone, where exposure to wind and waves is higher, had relatively stronger branches but more easily detachable leaves. This may be regarded as a damage-avoiding strategy. Across the seven field sites we found no clear effect of salinity on mangrove mechanical properties. This study provides a mechanistic insight in the storm damage process for individual mangrove trees and a solid base for modelling storm (surge) damage at forest scale.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Subject Earth and Environmental Sciences
DAS Code 7b.b.jb
Source https://dataportal.nioz.nl/doi/10.25850/nioz/7b.b.jb
Version 23
Creator(s)
van Hespen, Rosanna (Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Yerseke, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, Zeeland, The Netherlands; Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands h)
ORCID

Hu, Zhan (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, School of Marine Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong, China)
ORCID
Contact the corresponding author

Peng, Yisheng (School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)
ORCID

Borsje, Bas (Water Engineering and Management, University of Twente, Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands)
ORCID

Kleinhans, Maarten (Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands)
ORCID

Ysebaert, Tom (Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Yerseke, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, Zeeland, The Netherlands; Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen Marine Research, PO Box 77, 4400 AB Yerseke, Zeeland, The Netherlands)
ORCID

Bouma, Tjeerd (Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Yerseke, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, Zeeland, The Netherlands; Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands)
ORCID
Depositor Rosanna van Hespen
Publication Date 2021-04-09
Deposit Date 2021-01-06
Dataset Persistent Identifier DOI:10.25850/nioz/7b.b.jb
Alternate identifier
Related identifier
Contributor NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
Distributor Research Data Management(NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)
Distribution Date 2021-01-06
Production Date 2021-04-09
Dates
Collected
2019-01-09 until 2019-01-23
Df.branch, df.leaf, df.architecture, sites, treelocations

Collected
2019-06-01 until 2019-06-29
Df.drag

Collected
2019-01-09 until 2019-10-30
Df.branchdimensions (januari, june, october)
Funding References
NWO (ALWSD.2016.026)

NSFC (51761135022)

EPSRC (EP/R024537/1)

Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2019ZT08G090)

Innovation Group Project of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (311020003)

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (20lgzd16)
Geographic Coverage
Pearl River Delta region
North Bound: 113.675254
South Bound: 112.40084
West Bound: 21.63829
East Bound: 22.600074