New contributions to mangrove rehabilitation/restoration protocols and practices

Abstract

The conservation of extant mangroves and the restoration of the lost forests is extremely important for the Planet. However, there is a scarcity of information about several operational details and methodologies in worldwide mangrove rehabilitation/restoration projects or attempts (RRPA), especially from a more functional approach. Methodological data from case studies can help practitioners’ initiatives, projects progress, and/or management measures improvement. In this work, we make a non-systematic review of several mangrove restoration protocols, case studies, and published RRPA, addressing several important aspects raised by them and during our restoration practices in the Neotropics. We address the specificity of mangrove rehabilitation/restoration (R/R) in relation to the regional biotic/abiotic features and the use of experimental approaches, the question of key faunal groups that can be used as indicators of the functionality of restored stands, the mangrove R/R foreseeing the effects of already ongoing climate changes, and finally the challenges posed to mangrove conservation and restoration by the carbon trade and the ‘economic developmentalism’ framework adopted by most countries. This work also contributes to update the knowledge of some practical issues scarcely addressed by studies, aiming to improve the effectiveness of RRPA, especially when considering that mangrove restoration and climate change mitigation projects/attempts are expected to increase.