New Research on Mangrove Ecosystems in Mauritius

The research on mangrove ecosystems in Mauritius funded by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Ltd. has been conducted. The purpose of this research is to assess the present condition of mangrove ecosystems and to find alternative ways for sustainable utilization of mangrove resources. The people in Mauritius are very interested in mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs, and many NGOs are also engaged in their conservation and research activities. 

This research project aims to accumulate basic knowledge on the conservation of mangrove ecosystems together with NGOs, and at the same time, to develop human resources so that these activities can be carried out sustainably. 

We adopted the latest LiDAR-SLAM (Light Detection and Ranging - Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) method to visualize mangrove forest structure in Mauritius as 3-D models and the detailed analysis of soil deposits in mangrove forests using a geo-slicer that allows undisturbed soil sampling to determine carbon contents in the soil.

Some results were reported at the Symposium of the 28th Annual Meeting of the Japan Mangrove Society (JMS) held in December 2022, and published in March 2023 as two papers in Vol. 14 of MANGROVE SCIENCE, the Society’s Academic Journal. The two papers can be retrieved from MANGROVE SCIENCE of the JMS website @
http://www.mangrove.or.jp/gakkai/subpage/gakkaishi/vol_14.html

Reported by International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME)