Abstract
Mangrove forests are unique ecosystems that exist on tropical and subtropical coastal wetlands throughout the world. They provide multiple ecosystem services which are ecologically and economically beneficial to the planet by providing food and fodder, fish and shrimp breeding, protection from cyclones, coastal erosion, and saltwater intrusion, providing medicinal ingredients, and attracting tourists. However, these mangrove ecosystems face multiple facets of climatic, ecological, and anthropogenic threats of extinction. The area under mangrove forest has drastically reduced over the time. For the protection and conservation of the mangrove forests, there is an urgent need for accurate mapping of mangrove area and assessment of their vulnerability to climate change, and other abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic threats. The remote sensing technique can play a vital role in assessing and providing spatiotemporal information on mangrove ecosystem distribution, species differentiation, health status, and ongoing changes of mangrove cover. Due to difficulty in accessing the mangrove areas by humans, various studies have been conducted by using different remote sensing techniques ranging from aerial photography to high- and medium-resolution optical imagery and from hyperspectral data to active microwave (SAR) data. Numerous scientific papers have reported studies on mangrove mapping, distribution, and health status over the last few decades. This chapter will primarily present how remote sensing techniques have been utilized by various researchers to address the multiple factors related to mangrove studies, including the Sundarbans mangrove of India, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.