Types of Coastal Forests in Southern Sri Lanka and their Characteristics

抄録

The role of coastal forests in reducing the damage caused by the recent Indian Ocean tsunami is drawing attention. In the coastal regions of southern Sri Lanka, which was one of the affected areas, the current state of the coastal forests was ascertained through classification based on satellite photo readings with field surveys and by calculating the area ratio for each type of coastal forests. The coastal forests were divided into six types, the distribution of which differs greatly from coasts facing the open sea to the shores around lagoons. On a coast facing the open sea, natural forests characteristic of coastal areas were not found, but approximately 83 ha of casuarina plantations have been established on sand dunes. Mangrove forests are characteristic of lagoon shores and do not exist on coasts facing the open sea. They occupy approximately 10 % of the area within a range of 100m from the lagoon shores in this region. If coastal forests are to be used as protection against disasters, it is necessary to consider differences caused by these site conditions.