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Vogt, J., Skóra, A., Feller, I. C., Piou, C., Coldren, G., & Berger, U. (2012). Investigating the role of impoundment and forest structure on the resistance and resilience of mangrove forests to hurricanes. Aquatic Botany, 97(1), 24-29.
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North America: USA
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In Florida, mosquito impoundments were constructed to reduce mosquito populations by flooding the substrate they require for breeding. This artificial flooding however has been shown to affect mangrove ecosystems, and especially their regeneration and composition of species following disturbance events by hurricanes. The canopy turnover has been found to be greater in forests in higher succession stages with median tree diameter at breast height of 7.6 ± 5.7 cm compared to the intact forest with 3.7 ± 1.2 cm. Larger trees with lower densities are more susceptible to hurricane damage. In the aftermath of destruction by two hurricanes, the regeneration of the open patches was dominated by the flood-tolerant species Rhizophora mangle (89.9%) instead of the faster-growing pioneer species Laguncularia racemosa (7.0%). Some of the disturbed areas created by the hurricanes were not recolonized.
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