Florida Mangrove Forest Grows Further North This Winter
- 11 years ago
The state of Florida hasn’t experienced a freeze this winter, and the mangrove forests are continuing to spread further North.
The state of Florida hasn’t experienced a freeze this winter, and the mangrove forests are continuing to spread further North.
Some experts believe this is a sign of global climate change having an ecological effect, and is so expansive it can be observed from space.
Mangrove forests grow on the shore in tropical climates, and they are threatened in some areas by habitat development and other human interference with the environment so their expanding habitat should be gratifying.
However, on the coast of Florida, salt marshes and mangroves compete for land, with climate temperatures fluctuating to favor one or the other. Both provide valuable yet different habitats.
The mangrove forest along the central Florida coastline has reportedly doubled in size from 1984 to 2011, according to analysis of satellite images by researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland.
Reportedly it is the lack of cold snaps, rather than slightly higher average temperatures, that have allowed the mangroves to flourish.
Kyle Cavanaugh, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center said: “Right now we don't have enough information to determine if this is good or bad for humans… Both of these habitats are important ecologically and economically, and both are threatened by rising sea levels and coastal development.”
The state of Florida hasn’t experienced a freeze this winter, and the mangrove forests are continuing to spread further North.
Some experts believe this is a sign of global climate change having an ecological effect, and is so expansive it can be observed from space.
Mangrove forests grow on the shore in tropical climates, and they are threatened in some areas by habitat development and other human interference with the environment so their expanding habitat should be gratifying.
However, on the coast of Florida, salt marshes and mangroves compete for land, with climate temperatures fluctuating to favor one or the other. Both provide valuable yet different habitats.
The mangrove forest along the central Florida coastline has reportedly doubled in size from 1984 to 2011, according to analysis of satellite images by researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland.
Reportedly it is the lack of cold snaps, rather than slightly higher average temperatures, that have allowed the mangroves to flourish.
Kyle Cavanaugh, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center said: “Right now we don't have enough information to determine if this is good or bad for humans… Both of these habitats are important ecologically and economically, and both are threatened by rising sea levels and coastal development.”