Brussels university improves mangrove reforestation project using analytics

Mangrove forests seem like a very remote and unimportant vegetation form. But in fact it is far more important for our ecosystem and even for many human lives than you would consider possible. They harbor thousands of animal species, provide protection of coral reefs against siltation, and form an important natural barrier against tsunamis and cyclones or hurricanes.

That’s why it is important to provide a reforestation of mangrove forests to compensate for those that got lost for human activities such as shrimp farming. One of the academic persons actively involved in reforestation projects is Nathalie Tonné, a PhD student at Brussels-based university VUB. 

This reforestation is more complicated than it would seem. Many efforts have failed, mostly because the younger plants need optimal growing conditions, and it is not exactly known what these conditions are. Using SAS Analytics, the project managers are getting a better view on the ideal growing conditions, which will eventually help in speeding up the reforestation programs.

Read here how SAS has contributed in identifying the plants’ patterns of swelling and shrinking and correlating those to external data in order to establish the best possible seedling development model.  

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