Forests dominated by less typical mangrove associate, however, were severely damaged. This is also evident from the dendrogram, where the major splits indicate whether cryptic ecological degradation occurred. Mangrove sites with no
cryptic ecological degradation, or those well protected by distance inland and by Rhizophora spp. fringes, all experienced a low destructive impact from the tsunami. The key feature of those forests that were damaged appears to be a prominence of vegetative associates not typical of natural mangrove forests