How Mangrove Forests Benefit Our Planet's Ecosystem
Categories: OTHERS
Mangrove Forests
Mangrove forests are fertile wetlands that grow in coastal intertidal zones. They are also referred to as mangals, mangrove thickets, and mangrove swamps. Mangrove forests are mostly found in tropical and subtropical latitudes as mangroves cannot sustain subfreezing temperatures. 80 different kinds of mangroves exist, and all of them demand low-oxygen soil settings with slow-moving streams where fine sediments can accumulate.
A common way to identify mangrove forests is by the tangled mess of prop roots that give the trees the appearance of being raised above the water. The majority of mangroves experience flooding at least twice daily as a result of this web of roots that enables the trees to withstand the daily rise and fall of tides. The tidal waters' progress is slowed by the roots, which causes sediments to leave the water and accumulate on the muddy bottom. By stabilising the coastline, mangrove forests help to prevent erosion brought on by storm surges, currents, waves, and tides. Fish and other species seeking food and safety from predators are drawn to mangrove forests because of their extensive root systems.
Mangrove forests serve as hubs for the exchange of matter and energy between the land, ocean, and atmosphere where they are found. Because of the diverse ecological roles of mangrove ecosystems, such as runoff and flood protection, storage and recycling of nutrients and wastes, cropping, and energy conversion, they have drawn a lot of research interest. The forests are significant blue carbon systems that store a significant quantity of carbon in marine sediments, making them crucial climate change regulators. These mangrove ecosystems depend heavily on marine microbes. There is still much to learn about how mangrove microbiomes contribute to a productive environment and effective elemental cycling.
Young organisms can find a calm sea habitat thanks to the distinctive ecology found in the dense network of mangrove roots. Algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoa are among the creatures that live in regions where roots are submerged permanently. These organisms all need a firm surface to anchor to while they filter-feed. The muddy bottoms serve as the habitat for prawns and mud lobsters. Mangrove crabs consume the leaves of the mangroves, enriching the mangal mud with nutrients for other bottom feeders. The export of carbon fixed in mangroves plays a significant role in coastal food webs, at least in some instances. Many commercially significant fish and crustacean species can be found in mangrove plantations.
The carbon concentration differs between species as well as between other plant tissues (for example, leaf matter versus roots) because the red, white, and black mangroves in Puerto Rico occupy distinct ecological niches and have slightly varied chemical compositions. There is a distinct succession of these three trees from lower elevations, where red mangroves predominate, to further inland, where white mangroves are more common.
Mangrove forests are important for the cycling and storage of carbon in tropical coastal ecosystems. With this knowledge, scientists use sediment cores to rebuild the environment and examine changes to the coastal ecosystem over thousands of years. The fact that imported marine organic matter also ends up in the sediment as a result of mangrove forests being flushed by the tides adds another layer of complexity.
The largest continuous mangrove forest in the world is the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), which is situated in the southwest of Bangladesh between the rivers Baleswar and Harinbanga and borders the Bay of Bengal. Tropical and subtropical regions of the world are home to mangroves. The region with the most mangroves is Indonesia. Mangrove forests can be found in Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and PNG. Mangrove forests are incredibly important ecosystems that have numerous positive effects on our planet.
Here are some of the major ways that mangrove forests support the environment of our world:
Coastal protection: Storms, hurricanes, and tidal waves are naturally repelled by mangroves. Incoming wave energy is absorbed and dissipated by the extensive network of roots and vegetation, preventing erosion and lessening the effect of storm surges. They serve as a buffer zone, protecting the infrastructure and coastal communities from natural calamities.
Biodiversity support: Many different plant and animal species can be found in mangroves. Including fish, crabs, birds, and mammals, their intricate root systems, underwater forests, and intertidal zones serve as habitat for a variety of creatures. Mangroves are essential for the nesting, breeding, feeding, and protection from predators of many species, some of which are threatened.
Nursery and breeding grounds: For many marine species, mangrove forests act as vital nidifiers and breeding sites. Young fish, crabs, and other species can find shelter, food, and protection in the complex root network in mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves are essential to the development of several fish species of significant economic importance, including snapper and prawns.
Carbon sequestration: Mangroves are very good at removing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Mangrove forests contain trees and other vegetation that capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in their biomass and sediments. Mangroves are among the most effective carbon sinks because they store carbon at rates higher than the majority of terrestrial forests. Mangrove ecosystem preservation and restoration can make a substantial difference in the fight against climate change.
Water quality improvement: By filtering and capturing pollutants, sediments, and surplus nutrients from coastal waters, mangroves assist in maintaining water quality. The complex root networks serve as natural filters, eliminating impurities and enhancing water clarity. Additionally, they act as a barrier between land and water, keeping pollutants from entering delicate marine environments through runoff.
Economic value: For local communities, mangroves offer vital resources and opportunities for employment. They supply wood and non-timber forest products, fisheries assistance, tourist opportunities, and recreational activities. Mangrove trees support the economic health of coastal people by creating jobs, ensuring food security, and generating money.
Climate change resilience: Mangrove forests are essential for fostering resiliency to climate change. The resilience of coastal towns to climate-related risks is lowered by their capacity to dissipate wave energy, stabilise beaches, and guard against storm surges. By storing silt and progressively extending their habitat inland, mangroves have the ability to adapt to rising sea levels.
Coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds are frequently found together and cooperate. Sediment and contaminants that might otherwise flow into the ocean are captured by the trees. Seagrass beds offer an additional defence against mud and silt that might smother the reefs. In exchange, the mangroves and seagrass meadows are shielded from powerful ocean waves by the reefs. This very fertile ecosystem would be destroyed without mangroves.
Mangroves provide ideal nesting grounds for a significant amount of the world's fish, prawns, crabs, and other shellfish species. Many fish species, such as barracuda, tarpon, and snook, find shelter among the mangrove roots as small fish, move outdoors to forage in the seagrass beds as they become older, and finally move into the open ocean as adults. An estimated 75% of fish used for commercial purposes either spend time in mangroves or rely on food chains that originate in these coastal forests.
From microorganisms to Bengal tigers, mangrove forests are home to thousands of species at all levels of the marine and forest food webs. Birds are drawn to the trees' insect habitats, which provide cover for them in the dense branches. Hundreds of shorebird species and migratory bird species, including as kingfishers, herons, and egrets, use these coastal woodlands as good breeding and resting locations.
In addition to dugongs, proboscis monkeys, tree-climbing fish, white-breasted sea eagles, and olive ridley turtles, which are all endangered, the mangroves are also home to macaque monkeys who eat crabs, fishing cats, and huge monitor lizards. Along with other animals that dig, snails and clams can conceal themselves in the soft soil that lies beneath the roots of mangrove trees. Crabs and prawns, among other species, graze in the nutrient-rich muck.
Recognising the importance of mangrove ecosystems and taking action to preserve and restore them are imperative. Local communities gain from their preservation, as well as the overall well-being and sustainability of the ecosystems on our planet.