CATHALAC / WWF: Identification of Threatened & Resilient Mangroves in Belize, 1980-2010
Figure 6: Mangrove dynamics, 1980-2010 Nevertheless, while mangrove cover did decline from 98.7% of its original cover in 1980 to 96.7% of its original cover in 2010, as Table 2 also illustrates, the overall percentage of Belize’s land cover covered by mangrove ecosystems remained at 3.4% over the almost 30-year period. As indicated in Table 3, and in line with Zisman (1998), in 2010 dwarf mangrove communities represented the largest single physiographic mangrove class, representing over a half of overall mangrove cover. Mangroves of medium height represented slightly over a fifth of overall 15