Impacts of Typhoons Tianying and Dawei on seagrass distribution in Xincun Bay, Hainan Province, China

More than 50% of the typhoons landing in China have landed on the southeast coast, where they have caused great pressure on the coastal environment. Seagrass, one of the most important constituents of coastal ecosystems, is also greatly affected by typhoons. In order to clarify how seagrass distribution variation is affected by typhoons in coastal areas in southeast China, data of Typhoons Dawei and Tianying (category 4 and category 2 respectively, which just ran through the southern part of Hainan province) have been studied. In situ observation and satellite remote sensing data (CBERS-China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite) in 2004 and 2006 were used to retrieve seagrass distribution in Xincun Bay, Hainan province. In situ observations showed that leaf length, stem biomass and above ground biomass on average showed evidence of reduction after Typhoons Tianying and Dawei. However, seagrass density showed no evidence of reduction after typhoon Tianying and Dawei passed by and increased rapidly in January 2006. From results of satellite remote sensing data, seagrass distribution can be detected with high accuracy, and the area of seagrass distribution on the south coast of Xincun Bay in 2006 after the typhoon passed by was smaller than that in 2004 in region A and B. However, in region C, area of seagrass coverage under 20% increased. These results demonstrated that typhoons Tianying and Dawei damaged seagrass bed and helped seagrass to get rid of aged and dead leaves, and this correspondingly facilitated seagrass growth.