DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL EFFECT OF TROPICAL DEPRESSIONS ON DIFFERENTLY AGED CREATED MANGROVE SITES IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA

Florida’s mangrove forests, commonly found along the coastlines, are essential ecological and economic resources. Therefore, created mangrove sites are becoming an increasingly viable option to mitigate the losses of these forests’ decline. However, research has shown that reaching the equivalent functionality of their natural system counterparts takes several years with the usual function and low interference. Many factors, such as tropical depressions, can potentially impact these forests. 

In the fall of 2022, our study sampled soil in three differently-aged created mangrove sites in Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve (Tampa Bay): youngest (10 years), intermediate (17 years), and oldest (23 years). These samples aimed to determine the potential impact of tropical depressions on created mangrove forests.  The top five cm of soil were collected before and after the passing of Hurricane Ian (September 28) and Tropical Storm Nicole (November 10) and were analyzed for total organic matter (TOM) and bulk density (BD). It was found that there is no significant impact on bulk density or total organic matter post-tropical depression. However, site age and elevation significantly impact bulk density and total organic matter.  The results from this study contributes to the understanding of the lack of an impact that tropical depressions have on mangrove forests, which can help restoration efforts in the future.