Mangrove Conditions as Indicator for Potential Payment for Ecosystem Services in Some Estuaries of Western Region of Ghana, West Africa - The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa - page 150

Fig. 2 Schematic layout of
mangrove stands temporal
sample plots (a) for measurement
of all trees and stems diameter at
breast height (1.3 cm)
dbh C1 cm and (b) for counting
seedlings and samplings B1cm
and stilt roots, with measurement
of middle diameter and height of
stilt root in 1 m 2 quadrats
systematically laid along transect
axis

Transect orientation and lay-out (Random compass direction)

10m

5m

10m 10m

0.5m
0.5m 1m

Baseline (transect axis)

1m

1m

5m

Total rate of deforestation (per hectare estimate) The survey showed that over 1,000 ha of mangrove for-

ests exists in scattered pockets of less than 10 ha (in 50 % of
the sites) in the Amanzule area, representing about 10 % of
national mangrove coverage of 14,000 ha following UNEP
( 2007 ) subregional survey (Table 1 ). Most of the mangroves
that do not appear in the current vegetation map of the area
are of the estuarine mangrove type (61 %) (the area is known
to cover about 70 % of swamp forests, including mangroves,
but it has been difficult to measure how much has been lost);
generally healthy (44 %); reaching a canopy height of 30 m
in areas surrounded by coconut plantations (61 %); sup-
porting the livelihoods (from wood demands and use as
estimated from this survey); and securities of a surrounding
fishing or farming human population, generally of less than
500 people (56 %).
There was a general perception by mangrove com-
munities in 50 % of the sites surveyed that these man-
groves have decreased in area over the last 20 years.
Identified threats include wood collection for fuelwood,
charcoal, construction, etc.; pollution from waste disposal
from urban centres and mining activities; and river mouth
closure due to sedimentation that impedes tidal flows that
maintain mangrove ecological processes. However, there
has been no cutting of mangroves in over 60 % of the

D r ¼ D t = V s ð 5 Þ

where

household deforestation rate (m 3 household -1 year -1 ) D h

mean household wood stock (m 3 ) V h

t turnover rate (in weeks)

n total number of households

total rate of deforestation (m 3 year -1 ) D t

total rate of deforestation (ha year -1 ) D r

mangrove stocking rate (m 3 ha -1 ). V s

Results and Discussions

Status and Threats of Mangrove Ecosystem
Services

General Status of Mangroves
The current general status of the mangroves in the Greater
Amanzule wetlands based on the 18 sites surveyed is pre-
sented in Table 1 and the mangrove distribution map in Fig. 3 .