Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives

Lucy Carruthers; Vasile Ersek; Damien Maher; Christian Sanders; Douglas Tait; Juliano Soares; Matthew Floyd; Aminath Shaha Hashim; Stephanie Helber; Mark Garnett; Holly East; Jamie A. Johnson; Gheorghe Ponta; James Z. Sippo

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-73776-z

Back

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives

Lucy Carruthers, Vasile Ersek, Damien Maher, Christian Sanders, Douglas Tait, Juliano Soares, Matthew Floyd, Aminath Shaha Hashim, Stephanie Helber, Mark Garnett, …

Scientific reports, Vol.14(1), 27012

12/11/2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73776-z

PMID: 39532894

Appears in Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

Files and links (2)

pdf

Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole3.04 MBDownload View

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean DipoleView

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open

Metrics

34 Record Views

10 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites

Abstract

Multidisciplinary Sciences

Science & Technology

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Mangrove forests enhance Small Island Developing States' resilience to climate change, yet in 2020, a mangrove dieback impacted similar to 25% of mangrove-containing islands in the Maldives. Using remote sensing, dendrology and sediment geochemistry, we document a significant decrease in mangrove health post-2020 (NDVI: 0.75 +/- 0.09) compared to pre-2020 (0.85 +/- 0.04; P < 0.0001). Dead trees showed reduced stomatal conductance (delta C-13: - 26.21 +/- 0.11 parts per thousand) relative to living ones (- 27.66 +/- 0.14 parts per thousand), indicating salinity stress. Critically, sea-level rise (30.50 +/- 23.30 mm/year) outpaced mangrove sediment accretion (6.40 +/- 0.69 mm/year) five-fold between 2017 and 2020. We attribute this dieback to salinity stress driven by record-high sea levels in 2020, linked to an extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole event. These findings reveal the vulnerability of mangrove ecosystems to rapid sea-level rise and highlights the urgent need for adaptive conservation strategies in Small Island Developing States.

Details

Title: Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives
Creators: Lucy Carruthers - Northumbria University
Vasile Ersek - Northumbria University
Damien Maher - Southern Cross University
Christian Sanders - Southern Cross University
Douglas Tait - Southern Cross University
Juliano Soares - Southern Cross University
Matthew Floyd - Northumbria University
Aminath Shaha Hashim - Maldives National University
Stephanie Helber - Northumbria University
Mark Garnett - Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Holly East - Northumbria University
Jamie A. Johnson - Northumbria University
Gheorghe Ponta - Geological Survey of Alabama
James Z. Sippo - Southern Cross University
Publication Details: Scientific reports, Vol.14(1), 27012
Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO
Number of pages: 10
Grant note: LC was supported through a PhD studentship Northumbria University and a funded through allocation 2570.1022 from the Natural Environment Research Council (UK). We would also like to thank the Small Island Research Group for facilitating fieldwork and Areesh Abdulla from Huvadhoo Aid for his help during fieldwork. JS acknowledges support from DVCR Seed Scheme.
Identifiers: 991013233106702368
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre; Science
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Sea-level rise and extreme Indian Ocean Dipole explain mangrove dieback in the Maldives

Files and links (2)

Related links

Metrics

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Abstract

Details

Southern Cross University Social media