Abstract
Sporadic patches of mangrove vegetation are unevenly distributed along the coast, particularly in the lagoons, of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has become the first nation in the world who decided to protect its all its mangroves in 2015. Mangrove vegetation is considered as a cost-effective ecosystem-based tool for protecting the country from coastal disasters, such as erosion and tsunamis. Batticaloa Lagoon is one of the major mangrove areas in Sri Lanka. This region underwent degradation of mangroves due to a number of natural and anthropogenic factors, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Mangrove reforestation was conducted after the 2004 tsunami event in this area. The present study investigated the outcome of such activities in this lagoon in eastern Sri Lanka. Spatiotemporal changes in mangroves in Batticaloa Lagoon was estimated using multi-temporal satellite (Landsat, Sentinel-2, RapidEye and PlanetScope) data. The latest mangrove vegetation coverage in Batticaloa Lagoon is estimated as 1567 ha (2022) which is 26% less than the estimated area in 1995. It is estimated that nearly 20% of the total mangrove loss occurred during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and, despite the reforestation initiatives undertaken by various agencies in Batticaloa, the depletion in mangrove coverage and urbanization continued in this region.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge Planet Labs for providing access to PlanetScope and RapidEye imagery as a part of Education and Research Program and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and European Space Agency (ESA) for Landsat and Sentinel imagery.
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Veettil, B.K. Current status of mangrove vegetation in Batticaloa Lagoon, Sri Lanka, using high-resolution satellite imagery. J Coast Conserv 26, 74 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00923-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00923-x