Background:

Ecosystems are in constant transformation by ecological and anthropic processes. The use of satellite images through remote sensing helps to understand and study the dynamics and space-time changes of the vegetation.

Question:

What are the dynamics of mangrove cover in the municipality of Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico using a long time series?

Data description:

All available Landsat images.

Study site and dates:

The municipality of Alvarado, Veracruz from 1985 to 2021.

Methods:

We compute and create NDVI composites for all Landsat satellite images at 30 m spatial resolution. We identify patterns in mangrove dynamics based on the annual trajectory of NDVI using a long time series.

Results:

The annual average of the mangrove NDVI in the municipality of Alvarado increased linearly during the study period. 50 % of the mangrove cover of the study area (118 km2) is made up of areas where the mangrove cover has not been disturbed since the beginning of the period studied, accumulating between 25 and 36 years without change. The areas with the highest biomass represent only 0.2 % of the mangrove cover in the municipality. We identified areas with excellent quality mangrove cover, and priority conservation sites.

Conclusions:

The municipality of Alvarado requires urgent plans and actions to create conservation initiatives. In addition, the areas with a higher quality of mangroves that remain in the municipality should be protected due to their importance for the conservation of biodiversity and because they are threatened by urban and agricultural expansion.