Mapping mangrove forests using multi-tidal remotely-sensed data and a decision-tree-based procedure

•The changes of tide levels may bring about different spectral signatures of mangroves and lead to different mapping results of mangroves.•Short-term multi-tidal remotely-sensed data can better represent the unique coastal wetland habitats of mangroves than single-tidal data.•NDVIL·NDMIH (the multiplication of NDVIL by NDMIH, L=low tide, H=high tide) can be used to describe the distinctive characteristics of mangroves•The decision tree based procedure is able to optimize the application of multi-tidal and elevation information when mapping mangroves.