Using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Elevation Data to Map Mangrove Forest Height in the Caribbean

In this paper we describe a methodology to map mangrove forests in 3D in the Caribbean region. We used shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) elevation, lidar and field data to estimate mangrove mean tree height at the landscape scale. This paper emphasizes two regions which are undergoing ecosystem restoration activities: The Everglades National Park, USA and Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia. In these regions we used, respectively, airborne and spaceborne (ICEsat (ice, cloud,and land elevation satellite )) lidar data to calibrate SRTM data and estimate mean tree height. Our results show the method is accurate if mangrove forest canopy vertical structure is well characterized.