Mobile Mangroves

RESEARCH Mangroves are on the move—growing as far north as Georgia, well beyond their historic range. Until recently, the extent of this “transition zone” was ill-defined due to the low-growing tree’s tendency to grow smaller and more sparsely in these environments and to limitations in remote sensing technology. To get a clearer picture of mangrove migrations in one such transition zone—along the coast of northern Florida—a team of researchers from NASA, Villanova University, and UCLA compared available resolutions of satellite imagery. Using machine learning to assess vegetation cover, the scientists identified some 600 acres of mangrove forest that were previously unmapped, noting that these “vanguard mangroves represent the leading edge of this range shift.” Samantha Chapman, one of the study’s authors, says it’s not clear how existing ecosystems will adapt to mangrove…