Abstract: Aims On September 6, 2024, Super Typhoon "Yagi" made landfall in Hainan Province, China, causing severe damages to mangrove forests in the region. Methods A systematic field survey was conducted in the Dongzhaigang Mangrove Nature Reserve one week after the typhoon, selecting four representative locations, encompassing nine mangrove communities and seven typical mangrove species in total, to assess the extent of damage caused by the typhoon. Important findings The results revealed that 1) the mangrove forests at Yanfeng, situated 4.5 km from the ty-phoon’s path, and Sanjiang, located 6.5 km away, incurred severe damage, with the non-native Laguncularia rac-emosa and Sonneratia apetala populations being the most severely affected. In contrast, the mangrove forests at Tashi, 2 km from the path, experienced moderate damage, while those at Bodu, a mere 0.3 km away, sustained on-ly light damage. Field survey, complemented by UAV imagery, found that mangrove communities along tidal creek edges were more severely impacted than those in contiguous areas. 2) Among the seven species surveyed, mechanical damage to the native species Bruguiera sexangula, Kandelia obovata, Aegiceras corniculatum, and Ceriops tagal was primarily characterized by branch breakage and partial defloration. The non-native Sonneratia apetala and Laguncularia racemosa populations suffered greater damage than the native communities, with nearly complete canopy defoliation and 96.62%–99.7% of individuals sustaining damage. Approximately 9.64% of indi-viduals experienced trunk breakage or complete uprooting. 3) With the exception of the short Ceriops tagal com-munity at Bodu, which had a maximum tree height of 2 m, mangrove communities closer to the typhoon's path exhibited more severe damage. Tree height, diameter at breast height, and crown size were significantly and posi-tively correlated with damage severity; the taller the trees, the more severe the impact. Based on these damage as-sessments, it is anticipated that native communities will recover much more rapidly than non-native populations. The typhoon caused considerable short-term damage to the mangrove forests. Therefore, future mangrove restora-tion efforts should consider the species-specific wind resistance, and the mixed-species planting strategies are recommended to enhance the stability and wind resilience of mangrove communities.

Key words: Typhoon, Extreme climate, Catastrophe, Mangrove, Recovery