Mangrove distribution in the southeastern United States in 2021

Global climate change is leading to large-scale shifts in species’ range limits. For example, rising winter temperatures are shifting the abundance and distributions of tropical, cold sensitive plant species towards higher latitudes. Coastal wetlands provide a prime example of such shifts, with tropical mangrove forests expanding into temperate salt marshes as winter warming alleviates past geographic limits set by cold intolerance. These rapid changes are dynamic and challenging to monitor, and uncertainty remains regarding the extent of mangrove expansion near poleward range limits. This dataset represents the current (i.e., 2021) distribution of mangroves in the southeastern United State based on expert knowledge. These data provide a baseline for continued monitoring of the distribution and abundance of mangroves throughout the southeastern United States.