Past and current mangrove dynamics on the Bragança Peninsula, Northern Brazil [Elektronische Ressource] / Marcelo Cancela Lisboa Cohen

PAST AND CURRENT MANGROVE
DYNAMICS ON THE BRAGANÇA
PENINSULA, NORTHERN BRAZIL


Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades


Marcelo Cancela Lisboa Cohen
















angefertigt am
Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie
innerhalb des Fachbereichs 2
der Universität Bremen

2003





















































Erster Gutachter: PD. Dr. Hermann Behling, ZMT an der Universität Bremen
Zweiter Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Saint-Paul, ZMT an der Universität Bremen Acknowledgement

Special appreciation is expressed to PD Dr. Hermann Behling for supervising my thesis
and to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Saint-Paul for offering excellent conditions in his working group
at the Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie (ZMT) in Bremen (Germany).
I am pleasure to acknowledge the support by PD Dr. Rubén Lara. He provided
scientific assistance throughout the whole course of this work.
I like to appreciate the assistance of Dipl. Ing. Andreas Hanning during the field
work and the technical maintenance of the electronic equipment in Brazil.
I also thank the members of the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology and Núcleo de
Estudos Costeiros for the nice working atmosphere.
This study was carried out as a part of the Brazilian-German Cooperaation Project
MADAM and was financed by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) and the
German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) under the code 03F0154A. I
thank the Deutscher Akademischer Austauch-Dienst (DAAD) for the scholarship
support.
i Contents

Acknowledgements i
List of Figures vi
List of Tables viii
Summary
Zusammenfassung xi
Resumo


Chapter 1
ARE THE MANGROVES FROM BRAGANÇA PENINSULA REACTING TO
THE RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES? _______________________________1
1.1 Introduction ___________________________________________________________________2
1.2 Objectives_____________________________________________________________________3
1.3 The Bragança Peninsula _________________________________________________________3
1.3.1 Location3
1.3.2 Geology and geomorphology ___________________________________________________3
1.3.3 Hydrology__________________________________________________________________4
1.3.4 Climate ____________________________________________________________________5
1.3.5 Vegetation__________________________________________________________________5
1.4 Methodology___________________________________________________________________5
1.4.1 Image processing ____________________________________________________________5
1.4.2 Elaboration of an Elevation Surface Model ________________________________________5
1.4.3 Vegetation survey6
1.4.4 Physicochemical parameters____________________________________________________6
1.4.5 Sediment cores ______________________________________________________________7
1.4.6 Radiocarbon data7
1.4.7 Pollen analysis7
1.5 Results________________________________________________________________________7
1.5.1 The inundation frequency controlling the vegetation distribution on the Bragança Peninsula__7
1.5.2 Vegetation changes in the central peninsula8
1.5.3 Coastline vegetation changes ___________________________________________________9
1.5.4 Stratigraphy and radiocarbon data from the Bragança Peninsula ________________________9
1.5.4.1 Estuarine mud progradational sequence ( S2) ___________________________________9
1.5.5 Model of Bragança mangrove development_______________________________________10
1.5.6 RSL changes at the Bragança Peninsula between 5100 and 1000 yr BP _________________11
1.5.7 RSL changes at the Bragança Peninsula during the last 1000 yr BP ____________________12
1.6 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________12

Chapter 2
DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL APPLIED TO MANGROVE COAST
ANALYSIS, AMAZON REGION, BRAZIL _______________________________14
Abstract ________________________________________________________________________15
2.1 Introduction15
2.2 Methodological considerations ___________________________________________________16
ii 2.2.1 Study area _________________________________________________________________16
2.2.2 Tidal level measures _________________________________________________________16
2.2.3 Topographic survey16
2.2.4 Elaboration of an Elevation Surface Model _______________________________________17
2.3 Results and discussion__________________________________________________________19
2.3.1 Tidal inundation in the “Furo do Chato” area______________________________________19
2.3.2 Tidal inundation on the Bragança Peninsula20
2.4 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________22

Chapter 3
MANGROVE INUNDATION AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS FROM A GIS
PERSPECTIVE ______________________________________________________23
Abstract ________________________________________________________________________24
3.1 Introduction24
3.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________26
3.3 Material and methods __________________________________________________________26
3.3.1 Chemical and physicochemical parameters _______________________________________26
3.3.2 Elaboration of Surface Elevation Model _________________________________________27
3.4 Results and discussion28

Chapter 4
TEMPORAL CHANGES OF MANGROVE VEGETATION BOUNDARIES IN
AMAZÔNIA: APPLICATION OF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING
TECHNIQUES _______________________________________________________31
Abstract ________________________________________________________________________32
4.1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________32
4.2 Material and methods __________________________________________________________34
4.2.1 Study area _________________________________________________________________34
4.2.2 Field work34
4.2.3 Image processing ___________________________________________________________35
4.3 Results and discussion35
4.3.1 Geobotanical units35
4.3.2 Coastline vegetation changes __________________________________________________36
4.3.3 Vegetation changes in the central peninsula_______________________________________40
4.4 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________43

Chapter 5
STUDIES ON HOLOCENE MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS OF THE
BRAGANÇA PENINSULA IN NORTHEASTERN PARA, BRAZIL __________45
Abstract ________________________________________________________________________46
5.1 Introduction46
5.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________47
5.2.1 Location47
5.2.2. Environmental characteristics of the Bragança Peninsula ____________________________48
5.2.3 Human impact on vegetation __________________________________________________49
iii 5.2.4 Study sites_________________________________________________________________49
5.3 Material and methods __________________________________________________________50
5.3.1 Field sampling _____________________________________________________________50
5.3.2 Pollen analysis50
5.4 Results_______________________________________________________________________51
5.4.1 Stratigraphy _______________________________________________________________51
5.4.2 Radiocarbon dates and sedimentation rates _______________________________________51
5.4.3 Description of modern pollen rain ______________________________________________51
5.4.4. Description of fossil pollen results _____________________________________________55
5.4.4.1. Bosque de Avicennia ____________________________________________________55
5.4.4.2 Campo Salgado _________________________________________________________56
5.4.4.3 Furo do Chato60
5.5 Interpretation and discussion60
5.5.1 General background on Brazilian sea-level changes ________________________________60
5.5.2 Holocene relative sea-level and the development of the mangrove ecosystem ____________61
5.6 Holocene mangrove dynamics ___________________________________________________64
5.7 Conclusions __________________________________________________________________65

Chapter 6
MODEL ON HOLOCENE MANGROVE DEVELOPMENT AND RELATIVE
SEA-LEVEL CHANGES ON BRAGANÇA PENINSULA (NORTH BRAZIL)__67
Abstract ________________________________________________________________________68
6.1 Introduction68
6.2 Study area ___________________________________________________________________69
6.3 Data sources __________________________________________________________________69
6.3.1 Topographic survey ____________________________________________________