Existing at the junction of land and sea, mangrove forests have long been heralded for their ecosystem services, including their ability to buffer coastal areas against storm surges and rising seas. Now, new research has found a way to predict just how much mangroves can diminish waves associated with severe storms. When a wave hits an outcrop of mangroves, its energy is absorbed by the plants’ dense network of twisted roots. When the wave comes out on the other side, its intensity is often decreased, acting as a natural buffer for shorelines — sometimes even shielding shoreside communities from water damage or severe floods. This ability for mangroves to curb wave intensity — a property called attenuation — is well known among scientists. However, much of the data supporting this was collected by measuring mangrove attenuation during mild, calm periods of weather. Quantifying mangrove attenuation during storms or typhoons is trickier — it’s harder to gather data, and there are more factors dominating wave motion, like turbulence. Because of this, “existing models do not always perform so well to predict the wave attenuation by mangroves during storms,” Stijn Temmerman, a professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, told Mongabay by video call. This is especially important, researchers told Mongabay, as climate change is linked to severe weather systems. More than 87 million people were impacted by climate-related disasters in 2025, including flooding events and severe storms. Because of this, the development of new methods to model worst-case scenario climate and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
