Changes to coral reef landscapes are driven by regional processes that are unique to particular localities, yet much of our knowledge about how landscape changes manifest in coral reef environments comes from specific locations. We compare observations of 45 years of change on reef-flat landforms, including sand cays and mangroves, associated with low wooded islands in Australia and Indonesia. We draw on remote sensing technology, including satellite images and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys to provide high resolution aerial photomosaics and digital elevation models (DEMs) and field observations from ground referencing campaigns. Four low wooded island sites are compared; two in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia (Nymph Island and Two Isles) and two in the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia (Sabangko and Tanakeke Island). In particular, the Spermonde and GBR sites can be distinguished in relation to the process regime that entrains, distributes and deposits sediments on the reef surface thereby providing a substrate for further mangrove colonisation, particularly the presence or absence of cyclones as a key determinant of sediment transport. The influence of human populations inhabiting these sites is also an important control on their geomorphology. In the Spermonde Archipelago, local communities have altered sand cays through the development of infrastructure and converted mangroves to shrimp farms, while sand cays and mangroves have remained largely unaltered by humans on the GBR. This comparative evaluation of changes to sand cays and mangrove forest across low wooded islands emphasises the importance of considering changes within the context of their local geographic setting, inclusive of natural environmental and anthropogenic drivers of change.

珊瑚礁景观的变化是由特定地区特有的区域性过程驱动的，但是我们对珊瑚礁环境中景观变化表现的很多了解来自特定的位置。我们比较了与澳大利亚和印度尼西亚低树木繁茂的岛屿相关的礁滩平坦地貌（包括沙礁和红树林）45年变化的观察结果。我们利用遥感技术，包括卫星图像和无人飞行器（UAV）调查，以提供高分辨率的航空光马赛克和数字高程模型（DEM）以及来自地面参考战役的野外观察。比较了四个树木繁茂的低岛地点；其中两个位于澳大利亚大堡礁（GBR）（尼芙岛和两个小岛），两个位于印度尼西亚斯佩蒙德群岛（萨邦科和塔纳克科岛）。尤其是，Spermonde和GBR的位点可以根据在珊瑚礁表面上夹带，分布和沉积沉积物的过程方式加以区分，从而为进一步的红树林定殖提供了基础，特别是旋风分离器的存在与否是决定沉积物运输的关键因素。居住在这些地点的人口的影响也是对其地貌的重要控制。在Spermonde群岛，当地社区通过基础设施的发展改变了沙礁，并将红树林转变成虾场，而在GBR上，沙礁和红树林在很大程度上未被人类改变。