Sea level change and its influence on the coastal landscape in the Gulf of Mexico during the holocene

Abstract

The ecological services of mangrove ecosystems are globally recognized. Mangroves reduce hurricane damages and provide habitat for many organisms that inhabit coastal environments. Mangroves are excellent sea-level indicators. They depend on the balance between land and sea, making them sensible indicators of sea-level variations. Mean sea-level rise has an immediate and direct effect on ecosystems of the intertidal zone, which showed an increase in the influence of marine processes on land ecological process. During the Holocene, fluctuations of sea level and human impact on the vegetation have modified the extension of the mangrove ecosystem, changing the dynamics of the vegetation and the coastal landscape. We review the consequences of transgressions and regressions on the terrestrial and aquatic vegetation during the Holocene in the Gulf of Mexico.