Conceptual Framework for Mangrove Restoration in the Yucatan Peninsula

Abstract

Mangrove loss in Mexico led to the development of different recovery programs focused on building and maintaining greenhouses, reforestation, and the construction of drainage systems along coastal roads to reestablish surface water flows. However, these recovery strategies have not been as successful as expected because they were not based on an evaluation of environmental characteristics required for mangrove development in the context of new hydrological and sedimentary conditions. The studies performed over the last ten years by the mangrove group at Centro de Investigacin y de Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV), in collaboration with other institutions, resulted in a conceptual framework that we present here as a methodological approach for the ecological restoration of mangroves in the Yucatn Peninsula. The conceptual framework is based on the relationships among the geomorphology, hydrology, and structural and functional characteristics of mangroves that are associated with the environmental services offered by these ecosystems. The methodological approach is fundamentally concerned with the particular characteristics of the karstic environmental setting of the Yucatn Peninsula as well as social and economic aspects of restoration. This approach to mangrove restoration includes stages for planning, implementing, and monitoring mangrove restoration programs in karstic environments.