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#           Integrating remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify the effects of an extreme freeze event on black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the landscape scale      

      August 14, 2023    

Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extreme climatic event. We used ground- and satellite-based black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaf damage data from the northern Gulf of Mexico (USA and Mexico) to examine the effects of an extreme freeze in a region where black mangroves are expanding their range. The February 2021 event produced coastal temperatures as low as − 10 °C in some areas, exceeding thresholds for A. germinans damage and mortality. We used Sentinel-2 surface reflectance data to assess vegetation greenness before and after the freeze, along with ground-based observations of A. germinans leaf damage. Our results show a negative, nonlinear threshold relationship between A. germinans leaf damage and minimum temperature, with a temperature threshold for leaf damage near − 6 °C. Satellite-based analyses indicate that, at the landscape scale, damage was particularly severe along the central Texas coast, where the freeze event affected > 2000 ha of A. germinans-dominated coastal wetlands. Our analyses highlight the value of pairing remotely sensed data with regional, ground-based observations for quantifying and extrapolating the effects of extreme freeze events on mangroves and other tropical, cold-sensitive plants. The results also demonstrate how extreme freeze events govern the expansion and contraction of mangroves near northern range limits in North America.

## Citation Information

## Related Content

                  -              Data           
                  -              Connect           

August 18, 2023

####                 Mangrove damage along northern Gulf of Mexico from extreme freeze event on February 2021              

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

August 18, 2023

####                 2021 Gulf of Mexico Mangrove Freeze Damage Data              

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of Mexico

#### Melinda Martinez, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Eastern Ecological Science Center

melindamartinez@usgs.gov

#### Michael Johannes Osland, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

mosland@usgs.gov

337-262-7664

#### James Grace, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

gracej@usgs.gov

337-298-1671

#### Nicholas M Enwright, Ph.D.

##### Research Geographer

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

enwrightn@usgs.gov

337-262-7613

#### Camille LaFosse Stagg, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

staggc@usgs.gov

337-593-5837

#### Gordon Anderson

##### Scientist Emeritus

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

gordon_anderson@usgs.gov

352-264-3487

#### Richard Day

##### Geographer

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

dayr@usgs.gov

337-593-5857

####             Laura C Feher (Former Employee)          

##### Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

#### Andrew From

##### Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

froma@usgs.gov

337-593-5834

## Related Content

August 18, 2023

####                 Mangrove damage along northern Gulf of Mexico from extreme freeze event on February 2021              

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

August 18, 2023

####                 2021 Gulf of Mexico Mangrove Freeze Damage Data              

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of Mexico

#### Melinda Martinez, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Eastern Ecological Science Center

melindamartinez@usgs.gov

#### Michael Johannes Osland, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

mosland@usgs.gov

337-262-7664

#### James Grace, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

gracej@usgs.gov

337-298-1671

#### Nicholas M Enwright, Ph.D.

##### Research Geographer

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

enwrightn@usgs.gov

337-262-7613

#### Camille LaFosse Stagg, Ph.D.

##### Research Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

staggc@usgs.gov

337-593-5837

#### Gordon Anderson

##### Scientist Emeritus

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

gordon_anderson@usgs.gov

352-264-3487

#### Richard Day

##### Geographer

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

dayr@usgs.gov

337-593-5857

####             Laura C Feher (Former Employee)          

##### Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

#### Andrew From

##### Ecologist

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center 

froma@usgs.gov

337-593-5834

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####               Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - Gainesville, FL          

7920 NW 71st St.Gainesville, FL32653United States

352-378-8181

352-378-4956

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