The response of mangrove soil surface elevation to sea level rise
Cambridge Coastal Research Unit working paper 42, natural coastal protection series, report 3:
This report explores the capacity of mangrove soil surfaces to increase in elevation in response to local rises in sea level. It presents the current state of knowledge, starting with basic descriptions of the key concepts, then describing available data and discussing various factors that may affect surface elevation change, before finishing with a description of a sediment development model that could be used to predict future surface elevation change in mangroves.
The first section briefly explains how sea level is changing, why this varies locally, what is meant by “surface elevation change” in mangroves, and how mangrove surface elevation may be able to keep pace with local sea level rise. Section 2 examines historical and recent evidence for mangrove surface elevation keeping pace with sea level rise. Section 3 summarizes the processes involved in mangrove surface elevation change and the factors that affect these processes. Section 4 explores the relative contribution of surface and subsurface processes to elevation change, and looks at factors known to affect surface elevation change rates. Section 5 then considers the factors affecting the response of mangrove surface elevation to sea level rise, including possible feedbacks and thresholds. Section 6 briefly considers a sediment development model that aims to predict surface elevation change in mangroves. Section 7 concludes by considering what more we need to know in order to better predict when and where mangroves may be able to maintain their surface elevation in the face of sea level rise.