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Usefulne s s

Usefulness

Remote sensing provides an up-to-date and efficient

way to track the change of seagrasses over time. The

same Landsat or other satellite images that are used

to measure the extent of coral reefs and mangroves

can be used to map seagrasses. A region-wide analysis

protocol is needed to accurately compare the extent

within subregions (or countries). The same image-

processing standards and decision rules need to be

followed in subsequent analyses to allow accurate

temporal comparisons.

St atus

Status

Maps and areal estimates are available for some

locations, including all of Belize. The Belize Coastal

Zone  Management  Institute  data  (based  on

Landsat images from the early 1990s) indicate that

approximately 48% of the shelf area (continental

shelf plus atolls) is covered by seagrass, an extent of

approximately 4957 km2 39.

No regional estimate of total areal extent of seagrasses

is currently available.

Data Needs

Data

Regionally consistent seagrass maps are not yet

available, but The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has

recently completed a regional analysis that is

scheduled to be released soon.

The regional extent of seagrass habitat needs to be

determined and tracked on a regular basis for the

entire MAR.

S1

S1 3

WWF-Canon/Anthony B. Rath

Melanie McField / WWF

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