Global Biophysical Typology of Mangroves Version 3

A global biophysical typology of mangroves delineates the world's mangroves into geomorphic units based on their coastal setting. The dataset is an updated version from Thomas A. Worthington of the University of Cambridge, matching the Global Mangrove Watch v3.12 extent. It classifies mangrove patches into deltaic, estuarine, lagoonal, and open coast geomorphic classes.

Use Cases

• Classifying mangrove ecosystems based on geomorphic setting (deltaic, estuarine, lagoonal, open coast).
• Analyzing mangrove deforestation patterns relative to biophysical typology.
• Mapping the global distribution of mangrove geomorphic units.
• Validating and updating mangrove extent maps from satellite data.

Strengths

• Updates a peer-reviewed scientific typology published in Scientific Reports.
• Integrates with the Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) v3.12 dataset, a 24-year composite extent.
• Describes a detailed, multi-step methodology for assigning patches to geomorphic units.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Thomas A. Worthington, University of Cambridge

Collection Method

Created by overlaying and updating a prior typology with the Global Mangrove Watch v3.12 extent using an iterative buffer and manual assessment process.

Geography

Global