Quantifying the Protective Role of the Sundarbans Mangroves Against Cyclones Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and EVI (2007–2024)

Quantifying the Protective Role of the Sundarbans Mangroves Against Cyclones Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and EVI (2007–2024) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Quantifying the Protective Role of the Sundarbans Mangroves Against Cyclones Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and EVI (2007–2024) Tania Sultana, Kazi Sajirul Kadir Apon This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, acts as a major natural defense against cyclones along the coast of Bangladesh. This paper examines the relationship between vegetation health (measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI, and the Enhanced Vegetation Index, EVI) and cyclone-induced deaths and housing losses from 2007 to 2024. Remote sensing data from Landsat, cyclone impact data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and EM-DAT, and spatial GIS were integrated to measure vegetation change and cyclone impact in Sundarban-protected and unprotected coastal districts. Findings indicate a minor shrinkage in thick vegetation (86 percent in 2007 to 85 percent in 2024) and growth in water bodies, which are evidence of erosion and storm activities. Regression analysis showed that EVI exhibited strong negative relationships with the death rate ( β = -0.888, p = 0.018) and the house damage rate ( β = -0.962, p = 0.002) in protected areas, supporting the argument that healthier vegetation reduces cyclone losses. Similar, but weaker relations were found in NDVI.The results point to the vitality of the Sundarbans in protecting the coastal area and the necessity of continuous vegetation control and mangrove restoration to enhance long-term cyclone resistance in Bangladesh. Sundarbans NDVI EVI Cyclone Impact Mangrove Protection Remote Sensing Coastal Resilience Bangladesh Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9042474","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604368566,"identity":"3012aa1d-62cb-4c12-896e-899022bb2501","order_by":0,"name":"Tania Sultana","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAxCKsfHBByDFxk5AOQ9EiwGQYm42nAHSwkyEFgaIFvY2aTCPkBZ79rMHD/xg+CNnzn6wTdrm1zZ5PmYGxg8fc/DYwpOXcLCHwcDYsiex2Tq377ZhGzMDs+TMbfgclmNwgIfBIHHDgcTG27k9txmBWtiYefFp4X9jcPAPSMv5hw3Slj237QlrkcgxOAy25UZikzTDj9uJhLXceGNwWMbA2NjgxsNmw96G28ltzIzNeP3C3p9j/PFNhZycwfn0hw9+/LltO7+9+eCHj3i0QIABlGZsA5MNhNQjgz+kKB4Fo2AUjIKRAgDndk/L3S28JAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Khulna University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tania","middleName":"","lastName":"Sultana","suffix":""},{"id":604368567,"identity":"0e8f8b56-5fb3-4a9e-a4a7-2d4cccee02c8","order_by":1,"name":"Kazi Sajirul Kadir Apon","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jahangirnagar University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kazi","middleName":"Sajirul Kadir","lastName":"Apon","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-05 16:24:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105333334,"identity":"4395d0fb-1227-4b50-9194-d7b663af698c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-24 22:39:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2303366,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptNH.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9042474/v1_covered_26dac8d5-7d6c-403e-9fc1-980b6242d768.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Quantifying the Protective Role of the Sundarbans Mangroves Against Cyclones Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and EVI (2007–2024)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sundarbans, NDVI, EVI, Cyclone Impact, Mangrove Protection, Remote Sensing, Coastal Resilience, Bangladesh","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, acts as a major natural defense against cyclones along the coast of Bangladesh. This paper examines the relationship between vegetation health (measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI, and the Enhanced Vegetation Index, EVI) and cyclone-induced deaths and housing losses from 2007 to 2024. Remote sensing data from Landsat, cyclone impact data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and EM-DAT, and spatial GIS were integrated to measure vegetation change and cyclone impact in Sundarban-protected and unprotected coastal districts. Findings indicate a minor shrinkage in thick vegetation (86 percent in 2007 to 85 percent in 2024) and growth in water bodies, which are evidence of erosion and storm activities. Regression analysis showed that EVI exhibited strong negative relationships with the death rate (\u003cb\u003eβ\u003c/b\u003e = -0.888, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.018) and the house damage rate (\u003cb\u003eβ\u003c/b\u003e = -0.962, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.002) in protected areas, supporting the argument that healthier vegetation reduces cyclone losses. Similar, but weaker relations were found in NDVI.The results point to the vitality of the Sundarbans in protecting the coastal area and the necessity of continuous vegetation control and mangrove restoration to enhance long-term cyclone resistance in Bangladesh.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Quantifying the Protective Role of the Sundarbans Mangroves Against Cyclones Using Landsat-Derived NDVI and EVI (2007–2024)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-24 22:38:15","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9042474/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"635b508c-c5e0-432b-b67d-2be4d970fa9d","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 24th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-13T17:09:17+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-24 22:38:15","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9042474","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9042474","identity":"rs-9042474","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}