MANGROVE PROTECTION

Mangrove swamps are found in tropical and subtropical tidal areas. Areas where mangal
occurs include estuaries and marine shorelines.
[5]
The intertidal existence to which these trees are adapted represents the major limitation to
the number of species able to thrive in their habitat. High tide brings in salt water and when
the tide recedes solar evaporation of the seawater in the soil leads to further increases in
salinit!. The return of tide can flush out these soils bringing them bac" to salinit! levels
comparable to that of seawater. At low tide organisms are also exposed to increases in
temperature and desiccation and are then cooled and flooded b! the tide. Thus for a plant
to survive in this environment it must tolerate broad ranges of salinit! temperature and
moisture as well as a number of other "e! environmental factors#thus onl! a select few
species ma"e up the mangrove tree communit!.
About $$% species are considered &mangroves& in the sense of being a tree that grows in
such a saline swamp
[5]
though onl! a few are from the mangrove plant genusRhizophora.
However a given mangrove swamp t!picall! features onl! a small number of tree species. 't
is not uncommon for a mangrove forest in the (aribbean to feature onl! three or four tree
species. )or comparison the tropical rainforest biome contains thousands of tree species
but this is not to sa! mangrove forests lac" diversit!. Though the trees themselves are few in
species the ecos!stem these trees create provides a home for a great variet! of other
organisms.
Mangrove plants re*uire a number of ph!siological adaptations to overcome the problems
of anoxia high salinit! and fre*uent tidal inundation. +ach species has its own solutions to
these problems, this ma! be the primar! reason wh! on some shorelines mangrove tree
species show distinct -onation. .mall environmental variations within a mangal ma! lead to
greatl! differing methods for coping with the environment. Therefore the mix of species is
partl! determined b! the tolerances of individual species to ph!sical conditions such as tidal
inundation and salinit! but ma! also be influenced b! other factors such as predation of
plant seedlings b! crabs.
/nce established mangrove roots provide an o!ster habitat and slow water flow thereb!
enhancing sediment deposition in areas where it is alread! occurring. The fine anoxic
sediments under mangroves act as sin"s for a variet! of heav! 0trace1 metals which colloidal
particles in the sediments scavenged from the water. Mangrove removal disturbs these
underl!ing sediments often creating problems of trace metal contamination of seawater
and biota.
Mangrove swamps protect coastal areas from erosion storm surge 0especiall!
during hurricanes1 and tsunamis.
[2][3]
The mangroves4 massive root s!stems are efficient at
dissipating wave energ!.
[$%]
5i"ewise the! slow down tidal water enough so its sediment is
deposited as the tide comes in leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs.
[$$]
'n this
wa! mangroves build their own environments.
[2]
6ecause of the uni*ueness of mangrove
ecos!stems and the protection against erosion the! provide the! are often the object of
conservation programs including national biodiversit! action plans.
[3]
However mangrove swamps4 protective value is sometimes overstated. 7ave energ! is
t!picall! low in areas where mangroves grow
[$8]
so their effect on erosion can onl! be
measured over long periods.
[$%]
Their capacit! to limit high#energ! wave erosion is limited to
events such as storm surges and tsunamis.
[$9]
+rosion often occurs on the outer sides of
bends in river channels that wind through mangroves while new stands of mangroves are
appearing on the inner sides where sediment is accruing.
[citation needed]
The uni*ue ecos!stem found in the intricate mesh of mangrove roots offers a *uiet marine
region for !oung organisms. 'n areas where roots are permanentl! submerged the
organisms the! host include algae barnacles o!sters sponges and br!o-oans which all
re*uire a hard surface for anchoring while the! filter feed. .hrimps and mud lobstersuse the
mudd! bottoms as their home.
[$:]
Mangrove crabs mulch on the mangrove leaves adding
nutritients to the mangal muds for other bottom feeders.
[$5]
'n at least some cases export of
carbon fixed in mangroves is important in coastal food webs.
Mangrove plantations in ;ietnam Thailand the <hilippines and 'ndia host several
commerciall! important species of fishes and crustaceans. =espite restoration efforts
developers and others have removed over half of the world4s mangroves in recent times.