Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hurricane Mitch: Impacts On Mangrove Sediment Elevation Dynamics And Long-Term Mangrove Sustainability, Donald R. Cahoon, Philippe Hensel, John M. Rybczyk, Brian Christopher Perez

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Hurricane Mitch left three very different impacts on mangroves in the coastal zone of Central America. First, in the Caribbean, direct wind and flood-induced mangrove mortality was seen in the Bay Islands. Second, wave-induced erosion of beaches and subsequent sediment deposition buried mangrove forests of Punta de Manabique, Guatemala. Finally, along the Pacific coast, some mangroves of the Gulf of Fonseca were buried under up to 100 cm of sediments eroded from uplands and carried down slope by river flooding. Each of these three impacts left a different footprint on the mangrove communities, and these communities are expected to follow …