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"Swamps in literature"
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Shadow and Shelter
To early European colonists the swamp was a place linked with sin and impurity; to the plantation elite, it was a practical obstacle to agricultural development. For the many excluded from the white southern aristocracy--African Americans, Native Americans, Acadians, and poor, rural whites--the swamp meant something very different, providing shelter and sustenance and offering separation and protection from the dominant plantation culture.
Shadow and Shelter: The Swamp in Southern Cultureexplores the interplay of contradictory but equally pre-vailing metaphors: first, the swamp as the underside of the myth of pastoral Eden that defined the antebellum South; and second, the swamp as the last pure vestige of undominated southern eco-culture. As the South gives in to strip malls and suburban sprawl, its wooded wetlands have come to embody the last part of the region that will always be beyond cultural domination.
Examining the southern swamp from a perspective informed by ecocriticism, literary studies, and ecological history,Shadow and Shelterconsiders the many repre-sentations of the swamp and its evolving role in an increasingly multicultural South.
Anthony Wilson is assistant professor of English at LaGrange College. His work has been published in theSouthern Literary Journaland the Chronicle of Higher Education's online edition.
eBook
Novel coexisting mangrove-coral habitats: Extensive coral communities located deep within mangrove canopies of Panama, a global classification system and predicted distributions
Marine ecosystems are structured by coexisting species occurring in adjacent or nested assemblages. Mangroves and corals are typically observed in adjacent assemblages (i.e., mangrove forests and coral reefs) but are increasingly reported in nested mangrove-coral assemblages with corals living within mangrove habitats. Here we define these nested assemblages as “coexisting mangrove-coral” (CMC) habitats and review the scientific literature to date to formalize a baseline understanding of these ecosystems and create a foundation for future studies. We identify 130 species of corals living within mangrove habitats across 12 locations spanning the Caribbean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific. We then provide the first description, to our knowledge, of a canopy CMC habitat type located in Bocas del Toro, Panama. This canopy CMC habitat is one of the most coral rich CMC habitats reported in the world, with 34 species of corals growing on and/or among submerged red mangrove aerial roots. Based on our literature review and field data, we identify biotic and abiotic characteristics common to CMC systems to create a classification framework of CMC habitat categories: (1) Lagoon, (2) Inlet, (3) Edge, and (4) Canopy. We then use the compiled data to create a GIS model to suggest where additional CMC habitats may occur globally. In a time where many ecosystems are at risk of disappearing, discovery and description of alternative habitats for species of critical concern are of utmost importance for their conservation and management.
Journal Article
Spatial Planning Principles for Marine Ecosystem Restoration
Coastal and marine ecosystems characterized by foundation species, such as seagrass beds, coral reefs, salt marshes, oyster reefs, and mangrove swamps, are rich in biodiversity and support a range of ecosystem services including coastal protection, food provisioning, water filtration, carbon sequestration, recreational opportunities, cultural value, among others. These ecosystems have experienced degradation and a net loss of total area in regions around the world due to a host of anthropogenic stressors, resulting in declines in the associated ecosystem services they provide. Because of the extensive degradation in many locations, increasing attention has turned to ecosystem restoration of these marine habitats. Restoration techniques for marine and coastal ecosystems are generally more expensive when compared to terrestrial ecosystems, highlighting the importance of carefully selecting locations that will provide the largest return on investment, not only for the probability and magnitude of restoration success, but also for ecosystem service outcomes. However, site selection and spatial planning for marine ecosystem restoration receive relatively little attention in the scientific literature, suggesting a need to better articulate how spatial planning tools could be incorporated into restoration practice. To the degree that site selection has been formally evaluated, the criteria have tended to focus more on environmental conditions beneficial for the restored habitat, and less on ecosystem service outcomes once the habitat is restored, which may vary considerably from site to site, or with more complex landscape dynamics and spatial patterns of connectivity. Here we 1) review the recent scientific literature for several marine ecosystems (seagrass beds, salt marshes, and mangrove swamps) to investigate the degree to which site selection or spatial planning principles are applied for marine ecosystem restoration at different spatial scales, 2) provide a conceptual overview of the rationale for applying spatial planning principles to marine ecosystem restoration, and 3) highlight promising analytical approaches from the marine spatial planning and conservation planning literatures that could help improve restoration outcomes. We argue that strategic site selection and spatial planning for marine ecosystem restoration, particularly applied at larger spatial scales and accounting for ecosystem service outcomes, can help support more effective restoration.
Journal Article
Mangroves of the Maldives: a review of their distribution, diversity, ecological importance and biodiversity of associated flora and fauna
Mangrove forests are one of the most important biological, ecological and economic ecosystems in the world. In the Maldives, they play a crucial role in maintaining coastal biodiversity, providing ecosystem services, such as coastal protection, and supporting livelihoods by providing income and food. Overall, 23 Maldivian islands have at least 1 protected mangrove area. However, knowledge of the mangroves of the Maldives is scarce, scattered and sometimes conflicting. There is a lack of information on a national scale regarding their distribution, diversity, ecological importance and associated biodiversity. The aim of this review is to analyse scientific publications, reports, and online documents on mangroves for the entire Maldivian archipelago to provide the first comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of mangroves from a national perspective. This includes the geographical location of mangrove forests, the identity and distribution of mangrove species, ecosystem services, ecological importance and diversity of mangrove-associated flora and fauna. We analysed available information from both the grey literature and scientific publications and found that 14 mangrove species have been documented on 108 islands (9% of all Maldivian islands). Mangroves are mainly concentrated in northern atolls and are associated with diverse flora and fauna. Furthermore, we identified inconsistencies and gaps in the literature and proposed future directions for research. This is crucial for informed decision-making, developing effective conservation strategies and long-term sustainability of mangrove ecosystems.
Journal Article
Mangrove Ecosystem Service Values and Methodological Approaches to Valuation: Where Do We Stand?
Mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes, collectively termed “Blue Forests”, are counted among the most valuable and productive coastal ecosystems on the planet. A recent literature review of the Blue Forest valuation research identified mangroves as the most frequently analyzed of these ecosystems, yet the literature demonstrates several deficits in terms of geographic location of studies, methods used to value the services, and most notably, a lack of valuation for cultural services. To better understand this, we analyzed the studies dealing specifically with mangroves from the original literature review to quantify what has been valued, where, by which methods, and the variation in the published values. We then use this information to synthesize our current level of knowledge on the type and value of services provided by mangroves, discuss data gaps, and address specifically the collection of data relevant to cultural ecosystem services (CES). Our results shed light on two principle issues affecting the mangrove valuation literature: overuse of benefit transfer in valuing mangrove ecosystem services and a lack of attention paid to the CES that mangroves provide. The mangrove valuation literature is not yet robust, lacking estimates of many ecosystem services, including CES, such as spiritual and aesthetic value. Most published studies focus on a small selection of ecosystem services based on the availability of benefit transfer values and the ability to easily measure values with market prices. Thus, many ecosystem services that cannot be valued monetarily, but that are often equally important to local communities, are ignored. Given the wide range of ecosystem services mangroves provide and the variety of valuation methods that need to be collectively employed, we argue that doing valuation studies well requires a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing together anthropologists, social scientists, ecologists and economists. Thoughtfully and thoroughly including the local stakeholders in valuation studies and the resultant policy discussions leads to a more holistic understanding of the services mangroves provide, and viable solutions with an increase in local willingness to act in accordance with those solutions.
Journal Article
Application of seedball materials compositions on swamp jelutung (Dyera polyphylla (miq) Stennis) growth for peatland rehabilitation
The Indonesia peatland area is 22.4 million ha. Peatlands are susceptible to degradation when the hydrological conditions are disturbed, thus requiring land rehabilitation by selecting peatlands adaptive species. Swamp jelutung ( Dyera polyphylla ) is an adaptive plant species that grows in wetlands, it has breathing roots ( pneumatophore ) and grows in acidic soils. The first objective to explore and analyze of peatland rehabilitation literatures related to the native species and the second objective to analyze the composition of seedball materials effect on swamp jelutung germination. This literature review with bibliometric analysis using PublishOrPerish8 and Vos Viewer 1.6.20 versions. The seedball composition doses for peat soil: dolomite: clay: cocopeat: tapioca are sequentially 8:2:4:1:6, 8:2:2:1:8, 8:2:1:1:8, and 4:1:2:0:0. Vos viewer analysis presented 77 terms commonly used in the papers and linked with 6 clusters. There were 24 papers in 2024, but the research about seedball and jelutung species could not be found. The treatment of seedball material 4:1:2:0:0 has the best germination percentage (87.50%). The ANOVA results showed that there was significant effect of the seedball material composition on the parameters of germination percentage and seedling height, except the parameter mean germination time.
Journal Article
A Novel Approach to Modelling Mangrove Phenology from Satellite Images: A Case Study from Northern Australia
Around the world, the effects of changing plant phenology are evident in many ways: from earlier and longer growing seasons to altering the relationships between plants and their natural pollinators. Plant phenology is often monitored using satellite images and parametric methods. Parametric methods assume that ecosystems have unimodal phenologies and that the phenology model is invariant through space and time. In evergreen ecosystems such as mangrove forests, these assumptions may not hold true. Here we present a novel, data-driven approach to extract plant phenology from Landsat imagery using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). Using GAMs, we created models for six different mangrove forests across Australia. In contrast to parametric methods, GAMs let the data define the shape of the phenological curve, hence showing the unique characteristics of each study site. We found that the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) model is related to leaf production rate (from in situ data), leaf gain and net leaf production (from the published literature). We also found that EVI does not respond immediately to leaf gain in most cases, but has a two- to three-month lag. We also identified the start of season and peak growing season dates at our field site. The former occurs between September and October and the latter May and July. The GAMs allowed us to identify dual phenology events in our study sites, indicated by two instances of high EVI and two instances of low EVI values throughout the year. We contribute to a better understanding of mangrove phenology by presenting a data-driven method that allows us to link physical changes of mangrove forests with satellite imagery. In the future, we will use GAMs to (1) relate phenology to environmental variables (e.g., temperature and rainfall) and (2) predict phenological changes.
Journal Article
Vegetation carbon in New Zealand wetland ecosystems
Wetlands are a critical, though vulnerable, global carbon store, but the carbon stored in vegetation has not been quantified at a national scale for New Zealand wetlands. We undertook a literature review to assess vegetation carbon density in wetlands and used meta-analysis to estimate means and uncertainty for both vegetation structural classes and wetland type. We then used a combination of derived vegetation carbon densities alongside spatial extrapolation to estimate the amount of carbon stored in wetland vegetation in New Zealand. Our area of interest was the \"Wetland - Vegetated non forest\" class mapped by the Land Use Map (LUM), which is the authoritative layer for New Zealand carbon accounting. Within our area of interest, we used weighted aggregated land cover classes signifying vegetation to calculate a grand mean density (C ha-1) for New Zealand wetlands mapped by the LUM in 2008, 2012, and 2016, and total vegetation carbon stocks for each of those years. We found that among wetland vegetation structural classes, total above-ground carbon varied from a mean of 4.8 Mg C ha-1 for sedgelands to 23.8 Mg C ha-1 for tall mangroves. For wetland types, total above-ground carbon varied from a group mean of 3.6 Mg C ha-1 for pakihi to 19.5 Mg C ha-1 for mangroves. Estimates of below-ground biomass were uncommon (n = ten estimates from four studies) but the limited data available suggest that below-ground carbon density was less than total above-ground carbon density for three herbaceous structural classes (below-ground divided by above-ground ranged from 0.70 for reedland to 0.86 for rushland), while for mangroves below-ground density varied: below-ground divided by total above-ground was 0.99 for tall mangroves and 2.09 for dwarf mangroves. We estimated a total carbon stock of 5 868 710 (1 467 178-10 270 243) Mg С for our area of interest, based on a density of 27.080 (6.68-47.48) Mg C ha-1, and an area of 216 717 ha in 2016, the most recent estimate available. Using selected literature, we confirmed our estimates were broadly consistent with international values. There is a clear information gap regarding carbon densities in forested wetlands in New Zealand, and little ability to assess vegetation by wetland type due to the lack of spatial data around structural classes in New Zealand. We set out some recommendations to address this and other data gaps.
Journal Article
Litterfall Production and Decomposition in Tropical and Subtropical Mangroves: Research Trends and Interacting Effects of Biophysical, Chemical, and Anthropogenic Factors
The present systematic literature review (SLR) synthesized the literature on mangrove litterfall production and decomposition from studies published between 1985 and 2023 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Key questions about biophysical, chemical, and anthropogenic/societal factors influencing nutrient cycling via litterfall production and decomposition in mangrove forests were addressed. The SLR included 332 peer-reviewed original and review articles from the ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The United States of America had the highest relative count (RC, 31.32%), followed by Japan (8.79%) and Indonesia (8.24%), and the lowest RCs were found in Bangladesh, Kenya, Philippines, and Thailand. We showed the increasing trend on these topics and discussed the milestones to enhance our understanding of litterfall production and decomposition processes and inform future research endeavors in the context of climate change. A positive trajectory for understanding litterfall production and decomposition for effective decision-making and management strategies towards mangrove conservation and sustainable use is also discussed. Ten-year research prospects were also identified, including studies on impacts of pollution, habitat degradation, climate change, and other destructive human activities. The trend in studies about mangrove litterfall production and decomposition suggests the growing recognition of mangroves’ ecological and societal importance. Future advancements can be made to better understand the biophysical, chemical, and anthropogenic factors influencing litterfall production and decomposition through the identified future research directions. Finally, the findings of the present review are relevant to supporting effective conservation and management strategies for mangroves in a changing climate.
Journal Article