A resiliênca dos manguezais do estuário do rio Ceará Mirim-RN às intervenções humanas.

Abstract

Mangroves are recognized for being extremely sensitive to changes in the physical and chemical environment and are widely used as indicators of changes in climate, sea level, and human interference. The study area comprises the mouth of the Ceará-Mirim/RN River, located on the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), in northeastern Brazil. This area has a history of mangrove deforestation for implementing shrimp farming. This study aims to analyze the mangrove dynamics from 1985 to 2020. The research uses orbital remote sensing and drone images to develop a spatial-temporal analysis. The data indicates that despite the expansion of aquaculture activity from 46 ha to 183.47 ha considering active and inactive tanks, there was an increase in mangrove areas from 351 to 489 ha. Over the 35 years, aquaculture activity has mainly occupied flooded fields and apicum regions and occasionally some areas have been converted from mangrove areas. However, the expansion in mangrove areas was mostly due to the abandonment of aquaculture, which before 1985 suppressed mangroves to construct ponds. Despite severe anthropogenic interference in this delicate ecosystem, these forests have shown great resilience by recolonizing their tidal flats.