The reconnaissance surveys of the study areas have been
made within the Coastal Ecosystems Response to Deforestation-
derived Siltation in Southeast Asia (CERDS) Project during
1996e1997 (Panapitukkul et al., 1998; Kamp-Nielsen
et al., 2002). The results of image classification from the remote
sensing (RS) methodology were verified based on these surveys
as well as from later in situ fieldwork by the first author. The in
situ studies were carried out at all sites (Pattani in September
1999, Ranong and Satun in August 2000, and Nakhon Si Thammarat
in September 2000) in order to quantify mangrove