Does mangrove vegetation structure reflect human utilization of ecosystem goods and services?

Frederick Asante; Jean Hugé; Noble K. Asare; Farid Dahdouh Guebas

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106858

Does mangrove vegetation structure reflect human utilization of ecosystem goods and services?

Frederick Asante, Jean Hugé, Noble K. Asare, Farid Dahdouh Guebas

Biology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

57 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Many coastal communities in developing countries depend on mangrove
ecosystem services (ES). A combination of anthropogenic and environmental
stresses threatens mangroves globally. This study at the Ankobra catchment
communities in Ghana focused on the relation between ES utilization and
mangrove forest structure. Through vegetation survey, we observed significant
effects of selective logging, branch cutting, density of Acrostichum aureum,
and water stress on tree stocking and sapling densities. We observed through
interviews in five communities that about 98% and 88% of mangrove wood
harvested are used for fuelwood and construction respectively. The vegetation
structure of the forest areas receiving high harvesting pressures was less com-
plex, with lower tree and sapling density, as well as lower seed-bearing trees
than less-disturbed areas. Existing mangrove harvesting regulations are compro-
mised to accommodate the needs of the surrounding communities. Recognizing
these impacts is important to improve management decisions, address commu-
nity needs, and reduce pressure on mangroves.

Original language	English
Article number	106858
Number of pages	26
Journal	iScience
Volume	26
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106858
Publication status	Published - 16 Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article was published with the assistance of the University Foundation of Belgium (French: Cet article a été publié avec l’aide de la Fondation Universitaire de Belgique). The research was financially supported by the European Commission -funded Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO. We acknowledge the support of the TROPIMUNDO partner institutions: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), and the University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka) through the use of their online libraries. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, the CCM, and the ACECoR of the University of Cape Coast , Ghana supported us with field equipment and granted us the opportunity to get ethical clearance from the university. The assemblymen of Sanwoma, Eshiem, Kukuaville, Adelekezo and Eziom took us through the traditions and formalities regarding the conduct of research in the villages. Peter, and Collins of Sanwoma and Justice Yeboah of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences assisted us throughout the fieldwork. Doris Ama Boafo, Elizabeth Jonah, and workers and owner of His Majesty Guest House, Asanta provided accommodation throughout the stay in Ankobra.

Funding Information:
This article was published with the assistance of the University Foundation of Belgium (French: Cet article a été publié avec l'aide de la Fondation Universitaire de Belgique). The research was financially supported by the European Commission-funded Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO. We acknowledge the support of the TROPIMUNDO partner institutions: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), and the University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka) through the use of their online libraries. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, the CCM, and the ACECoR of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana supported us with field equipment and granted us the opportunity to get ethical clearance from the university. The assemblymen of Sanwoma, Eshiem, Kukuaville, Adelekezo and Eziom took us through the traditions and formalities regarding the conduct of research in the villages. Peter, and Collins of Sanwoma and Justice Yeboah of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences assisted us throughout the fieldwork. Doris Ama Boafo, Elizabeth Jonah, and workers and owner of His Majesty Guest House, Asanta provided accommodation throughout the stay in Ankobra. F.A.: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, validation, investigation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, visualization; J.H.: Writing - review & editing, validation, supervision; N.K.A: Writing – review & editing, resources, supervision; F.D.-G.: Conceptualization, methodology, data curation, validation, resources, writing - review & editing, supervision, project administration. The authors declare no competing interest. We worked to ensure gender balance in the recruitment of human subjects. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Access to Document

10.1016/j.isci.2023.106858Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Asanteetal_2023_IScienceFinal published version, 4.6 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Handle.net

Persistent link

Cite this

@article{134b4ba8d6eb448f899f9c754d26ade3,

title = "Does mangrove vegetation structure reflect human utilization of ecosystem goods and services?",

abstract = "Many coastal communities in developing countries depend on mangroveecosystem services (ES). A combination of anthropogenic and environmentalstresses threatens mangroves globally. This study at the Ankobra catchmentcommunities in Ghana focused on the relation between ES utilization andmangrove forest structure. Through vegetation survey, we observed significanteffects of selective logging, branch cutting, density of Acrostichum aureum,and water stress on tree stocking and sapling densities. We observed throughinterviews in five communities that about 98% and 88% of mangrove woodharvested are used for fuelwood and construction respectively. The vegetationstructure of the forest areas receiving high harvesting pressures was less com-plex, with lower tree and sapling density, as well as lower seed-bearing treesthan less-disturbed areas. Existing mangrove harvesting regulations are compro-mised to accommodate the needs of the surrounding communities. Recognizingthese impacts is important to improve management decisions, address commu-nity needs, and reduce pressure on mangroves.",

author = "Frederick Asante and Jean Hug{\'e} and Asare, {Noble K.} and {Dahdouh Guebas}, Farid",

note = "Funding Information: This article was published with the assistance of the University Foundation of Belgium (French: Cet article a {\'e}t{\'e} publi{\'e} avec l{\textquoteright}aide de la Fondation Universitaire de Belgique). The research was financially supported by the European Commission -funded Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO. We acknowledge the support of the TROPIMUNDO partner institutions: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Universit{\'e} libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Universit{\`a} degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), and the University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka) through the use of their online libraries. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, the CCM, and the ACECoR of the University of Cape Coast , Ghana supported us with field equipment and granted us the opportunity to get ethical clearance from the university. The assemblymen of Sanwoma, Eshiem, Kukuaville, Adelekezo and Eziom took us through the traditions and formalities regarding the conduct of research in the villages. Peter, and Collins of Sanwoma and Justice Yeboah of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences assisted us throughout the fieldwork. Doris Ama Boafo, Elizabeth Jonah, and workers and owner of His Majesty Guest House, Asanta provided accommodation throughout the stay in Ankobra. Funding Information: This article was published with the assistance of the University Foundation of Belgium (French: Cet article a {\'e}t{\'e} publi{\'e} avec l'aide de la Fondation Universitaire de Belgique). The research was financially supported by the European Commission-funded Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO. We acknowledge the support of the TROPIMUNDO partner institutions: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Universit{\'e} libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Universit{\`a} degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), and the University of Ruhuna (Sri Lanka) through the use of their online libraries. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, the CCM, and the ACECoR of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana supported us with field equipment and granted us the opportunity to get ethical clearance from the university. The assemblymen of Sanwoma, Eshiem, Kukuaville, Adelekezo and Eziom took us through the traditions and formalities regarding the conduct of research in the villages. Peter, and Collins of Sanwoma and Justice Yeboah of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences assisted us throughout the fieldwork. Doris Ama Boafo, Elizabeth Jonah, and workers and owner of His Majesty Guest House, Asanta provided accommodation throughout the stay in Ankobra. F.A.: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, validation, investigation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, visualization; J.H.: Writing - review & editing, validation, supervision; N.K.A: Writing – review & editing, resources, supervision; F.D.-G.: Conceptualization, methodology, data curation, validation, resources, writing - review & editing, supervision, project administration. The authors declare no competing interest. We worked to ensure gender balance in the recruitment of human subjects. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023",

year = "2023",

month = jun,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1016/j.isci.2023.106858",

language = "English",

volume = "26",

journal = "iScience",

issn = "2589-0042",