Mangrove Forest Extent and Change in Eight River Deltas

ORNL_CLOUD provides a dataset mapping mangrove forest extent for 2016 and tracking change from 2000 to 2016 across major river deltas in eight countries. It uses a 30-meter resolution methodology combining Landsat, Sentinel-1, and SRTM data to classify landcover and calculate NDVI anomalies for detecting loss or gain. The dataset is available on multiple platforms, including NASA EarthData and Data.gov.

Use Cases

• Analyzing mangrove deforestation or regrowth rates in specific deltas like the Ganges-Brahmaputra (Bangladesh) or Mekong (Vietnam).
• Calibrating regional carbon stock models using high-resolution 30m mangrove extent maps from 2016.
• Validating global mangrove change products by comparing NDVI anomaly-based change detection with local observations.
• Assessing the impact of coastal development or restoration projects on mangrove cover over a 16-year period.

Strengths

• Provides a 16-year time series (2000-2016) for analyzing mangrove change dynamics.
• Uses a multi-sensor approach combining optical (Landsat) and radar (Sentinel-1) data at a consistent 30-meter spatial resolution.
• Focuses on eight specific, ecologically significant river delta regions across multiple continents.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to selected deltas in eight countries, not a global assessment.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2016-12-31 and 2026-03 13), creating uncertainty about version currency.
• Specific column names and row counts for underlying data are not provided by the sources.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Country-wide maps created using Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel-1 C-SAR, and SRTM elevation data for 2016 extent. Change analysis uses the 2000 global mangrove map baseline and NDVI anomalies calculated from Landsat 5, 7, and 8 collections.

Time Range

2000 to 2016

Freshness

2026-03-13 04:04:15.636713

Geography

Major river delta regions in Bangladesh, Gabon, Jamaica, Mozambique, Peru, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vietnam.