Abstract
Mangroves in many parts of the world are subjected to frequent, large-scaledisturbances. A possible exception is Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia(FSM), a small volcanic island in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Relativesea level has been stable for most of the last 1000 years and the last tropical cyclone to affect the island was in 1905. Many trees on Kosrae,especially individuals of the species Sonneratia alba, thereforeappear to die only after reaching advanced ages and exceptional sizes. Themost widespread anthropogenic disturbance is harvesting of trees for fuelwoodand poles, which is done selectively and generally creates small, dispersedgaps. Other forms of anthropogenic disturbance, such as modifications ofcoastal landforms, alterations of freshwater inflows road construction andconversion to residential or agricultural uses, are still relatively minorbut have led to some irreversible losses. The economy of Kosrae is basedto a large degree on income derived from a Compact of Free Association betweenthe FSM and the United States, an agreement that has an uncertain future.Many of the funding provisions of the Compact expire in 2001 and, if notrenewed, may have dramatic impacts on resource use. This in turn may leadto a much greater level of anthropogenic disturbance of what are now someof the world's most intact mangrove swamps.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, J.A., Ewel, K.C., Keeland, B.D., Tara, T. and Smith, T.J. III. 2000. Downed wood in Micronesian mangrove forests.Wetlands 20: 169–176.
Athens, J.S. 1995. Landscape Archaeology: Prehistoric Settlement, Subsistence, and Environment of Kosrae, Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia. Report prepared for Kosrae State Government by International Arachaeological Research Institute, Inc., Honolulu, HI.
Aubé, M. and Caron, L. 2001. The mangroves of the North Coast of Haiti: A preliminary assessment.Wetl. Ecol. Manag. 9: 271–278.
Bandaranayake, W.M. 1998. Traditional and medicinal uses of mangroves. Mangr. Salt Marsh. 2: 133–148.
Cole, T.G., Ewel, K.C. and Devoe, N.N. 1998. Structure of mangrove trees and forests in Micronesia. Forest Ecol. Manag. 117: 95–109.
Devoe, N. 1994. Mangrove exploitation and conservation in the Federated States of Micronesia. ISLA: A Journal of Micronesian Studies 2: 67–82.
Duke, N.C. 1999. The 1998 Survey of Rhizophora Species in Micronesia. Unpublished report to the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A. Marine Botany Group, Botany Department, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Duke, N.C. 2001. Gap creation and regenerative processes driving diversity and structure of mangrove ecosystems. Wetl. Ecol. Manag. 9: 257–269.
Ellison, J.C. and Stoddart, D.R. 1991. Mangrove ecosystem collapse during predicted sea-level rise: Holocene analogues and implications. J. Coastal Res. 7: 151–165.
Emanuel, K.A. 1987. The dependence of hurricane intensity on climate. Nature 326: 483–485.
Ewel, K.C., Bourgeois, J.A., Cole, T.G. and Zheng, S. 1998a. Variation in environmental characteristics and vegetation in highrainfall mangrove forests, Kosrae, Micronesia. Gl. Ecol. and Biogeogr. Lett. 7: 49–56.
Ewel, K.C., Zheng, S., Pinzón, Z.S. and Bourgeois, J.A. 1998b. Environmental effects of canopy gap formation in high-rainfall mangrove forests. Biotropica 30: 510–518.
Farnsworth, E.J. and Ellison, A.M. 1996. Anthropogenic disturbance of Caribbean mangrove ecosystems: Impacts, present trends, and future predictions. Biotropica 28(4a): 549–565.
Farnsworth, E.J. and Ellison, A.M. 1997. The global conservation status of mangroves. Ambio 26: 328–334.
Fischer, J.L. and Fischer, A.M. 1957. The Eastern Carolines. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, in association with Human Relations Area Files, New Haven, CT, USA.
Fujimoto, K. and Miyagi, T. 1993. Development process of tidal-flat mangrove habitats and their zonation in the Pacific Ocean: A geomorphological study. Vegetatio 106: 137–146.
Fujimoto, K., Miyagi, T. Kikuchi, T. and Kawana, T. 1996. Mangrove habitat formation and response to Holocene sea-level changes on Kosrae Island, Micronesia. Mangr. Salt Marsh. 1: 47–57.
Jiménez, J.A., Lugo, A.E. and Cintrón, G. 1985. Tree mortality in mangrove forests. Biotropica 17: 177–185.
Kawana, T., Miyagi, T., Fujimoto, K. and Kikuchi, T. 1995. Late Holocene sea-level changes in Kosrae Island, the Carolines, Micronesia. In: Kikuchi, T. (ed.), Rapid Sea Level Rise and Mangrove Habitat. pp. 1–7. Institute for Basin Ecosystem Studies, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Kikuchi, T., Mochida, Y., Miyagi, T., Fujimoto, K. and Tsuda, S. 1999. Mangrove forests supported by peaty habitats on several islands in the western Pacific. Tropics 8: 197–205.
Kosrae State Census Report, 1996. 1994 FSM Census of Population and Housing. Kosrae State Government, Tofol, Kosrae, FSM.
MacLean, C.D., Whitesell, C.D., Cole, T.G. and McDuffie, K.E. 1988. Timber resources of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk, and Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. USDA Forest Service, Berkeley, California. Resource Bulletin PSW-24.
Magnusson, W.E., Lima, A.P. and de Lima, O. 1996. Group lightning mortality of trees in a Neotropical forest. J. Trop. Ecol. 12: 899–903.
Manoa Mapworks. 1987. Kosrae coastal resource atlas. Prepared for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division under Contract No. DACW83–87-M-0354, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Miyagi, T. 1992. Land conservation for sustainable land use of mangrove habitat. Trans. Jap. Geomorph. Union 13: 325–331.
Naylor, R. and Drew, M. 1998. Valuing mangrove resources in Kosrae, Micronesia. Envir. Devel. Econ. 3: 471–490.
Osman, W.M. 1995. Federated States of Micronesia Economic Report, Autumn 1995. Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Pinzón, Z.S. 1998. Canopy Dynamics and Regeneration in Mangrove Forests in Micronesia. M.S. thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Ray, B. 1999. Global Tracks. Typhoon tracking software, Version 2.1a. Hyperlink: http://www.gtracks.com. Historical data obtained from the National Hurricane Center, Guam Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Purdue University, and various other university data bases.
Ritter, L.T. and Ritter, P.L. 1982. The European Discovery of Kosrae Island. Micronesian Archaeological Survey, Report 13. Historic Preservation Office, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
Ritter, P.L. 1981. The population of Kosrae at contact. Micronesia 17: 11–28.
Roth, L.C. 1992. Hurricanes and mangrove regeneration: Effects of Hurricane Juan, October, 1988, on the vegetation of Isla del Venado, Bluefields, Nicaragua. Biotropica 24: 375–384.
Sarfert, E. 1919. Kusae. Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition, 1980–10. Friederichsen, Hamburg.
Segal, H.G. 1995. Kosrae: The Sleeping Lady Awakens, 2nd edition. Kosrae State Tourist Division, Kosrae State Government, Federated States of Micronesia.
Sherman, R.E. Fahey, T.J. and Battles, J.L. 2000. Small-scale disturbance and regeneration dynamics in a neotropical mangrove forest. J. of Ecol. 88: 165–178.
Smith, D.M. 1986. The Practice of Silviculture, 8th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Smith, T.J. III. 1992. Forest structure. In: Robertson, A.I. and Alongi, D.M. (eds.), Tropical Mangrove Ecosystems. pp. 101–136. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
Smith, T.J. III, Robblee, M.B., Wanless, H.R. and Doyle, T.W. 1994. Mangroves, hurricanes and lightning strikes. Bioscience 44: 256–262.
Steinke, T.D. and Ward, C.J. 1989. Some effects of the cylones Domoina and Imboa on mangrove communities in the St. Lucia Estuary. South African J. Bot. 55: 340–348.
Talahashi, T. 1983. Oceanic tropical thunderstorms at Ponape, Micronesia. In: Ruhnke, L.H. and Latham, J. (eds.), Proceedings in Atmospheric Electricity. pp. 171–175. A. Deepak Publishing, Hamptin, VA, USA.
Twilley, R.R. 1998. Mangrove wetlands. In: Messina, M.G. and Conner, W.H. (eds.), Southern Forested Wetlands: Ecology and Management. pp. 445–473. Lewis Publishers, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Walsh, G.E. 1977. Exploitation of mangal. In: Chapman, V.J. (ed.), Wet Coastal Ecosystems, Ecosystems of the World 1. pp. 347–363. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
Whitesell, C.D., MacLean, C.D., Falanruw, M.C., Cole, T. and Ambacher, A. 1986. Vegetation survey of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Berkeley, CA. Resource Bulletin PSW-17.
Woodroffe, C.D. 1987. Pacific island mangroves: Distribution and environmental settings. Pac. Sci. 41: 166–185.
Woodroffe, C.D. 1992. Mangrove sediments and geomorphology. In: Robertson, A.I. and Alongi, D.M. (eds.), Tropical Mangrove Ecosystems. Coastal and Estuarine Studies 41. pp. 7–41. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.
Woodroffe, C.D. and Grindrod, J. 1991. Mangrove biogeography: The role of Quaternary environmental and sea-level change. J. Biogeogr. 18: 479–492.
Xue, C. 1996. Coastal sedimentation, erosion and management of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. SOPAC Technical Report 228, South Pacific Geoscience Commission, Suva, Fiji.
Xue, C. 1999. Coastal sedimentation, erosion and management on the North Coast of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. J. Coastal Res. 15: 927–935.
Yamanaka, M. and Kikuchi, T. 1995. Pollen analytical studies of the Holocene deposits from Kosrae and Pohnpei Islands, Micronesia. In: Kikuchi, T. (ed.), Rapid Sea Level Rise and Mangrove Habitat. pp. 45–47. Institute for Basin Ecosystem Studies, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allen, J.A., Ewel, K.C. & Jack, J. Patterns of natural and anthropogenic disturbance of the mangroves on the Pacific Island of Kosrae. Wetlands Ecology and Management 9, 291–301 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011125310794
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011125310794