Forests dominated by less
typical mangrove associates
(Box 1), however, were severely
damaged (Figure 3A,B). This is
also evident from the
dendrogram, where the major
splits indicate whether ‘cryptic
ecological degradation’ occurred
(Figure 1). 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