Nonparametric assessment of mangrove ecosystem in the context of coastal resilience in Ghana

Cloud cover effects make it difficult to evaluate the mangrove ecosystem in tropical locations using solely optical satellite data. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a more precise evaluation using data from several sources and appropriate models in order to manage the mangrove ecosystem as effectively as feasible. In this study, the status of the mangrove ecosystem and its potential contribution to coastal resilience were evaluated using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and the InVEST model. The GEE was used to map changes in mangrove and other land cover types for the years 2009 and 2019 by integrating both optical and radar data. The quantity allocation disagreement index (QADI) was used to assess the classification accuracy. Mangrove height and aboveground biomass density were estimated using GEE by extracting their values from radar image clipped with a digital elevation model and mangrove vector file. A universal allometric equation that relates canopy height to aboveground biomass was applied. The InVEST model was used to calculate a hazard index of every 250 m of the shoreline with and without mangrove ecosystem. Our result showed that about 16.9% and 21% of mangrove and other vegetation cover were lost between 2009 and 2019. However, water body and bare land/built-up areas increased by 7% and 45%, respectively. The overall accuracy of 2009 and 2019 classifications was 99.6% (QADI = 0.00794) and 99.1% (QADI = 0.00529), respectively. Mangrove height and aboveground biomass generally decreased from 12.7 to 6.3 m and from 105 to 88 Mg/ha on average. The vulnerability index showed that 23%, 51% and 26% of the coastal segment in the presence of mangrove fall under very low/low, moderate and high risks, respectively. Whereas in the absence of mangrove, 8%, 38%, 39% and 15% fall under low, moderate, high and very high-risk zones, respectively. This study will among other things help the stakeholders in coastal management and marine spatial planning to identify the need to focus on conservation practices.