THE DYNAMICS OF MANGROVES IN MEKONG DELTA (VIETNAM):FROM DEGRADATION TO RESTORATION
The results of the analysis of satellite images of LANDSAT were used to reconstruct the change in the area of mangrove forests of the Mekong Delta for 30 years. The study is based on a series of images covering the entire coast of the delta for 1988, 1998, 2013 and 2018. The total area of mangroves for each period was calculated, as well as the area on which the mangroves were replaced by secondary vegetation or anthropogenic landscapes, and the area on which mangrove vegetation was restored. In 1988, the mangrove forest occupied 111 thousand hectares. Over a thirty-year period, the area of mangroves decreased by 35 thousand hectares, to 68% of the initial, and the rate of decrease of mangrove vegetation calculated from these data should have been 1.2 thousand hectares, or about 1% per year. However, satellite monitoring carried out with a frequency of 10–15 years showed a change in the negative trend of dynamics to a positive one. From 2013 to 2018, the area of mangroves increased by 7.8 thousand ha. This is the first documented case of a change in the trend of mangrove dynamics for a large region.