09. Mangroves

Where are mangroves located?

  • Mangroves are largely confined to the coasts between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn

  • as they generally grow under tropical climate conditions.

  • Mangroves are located in shallow waters near to the coast

  • because low-lying coasts with muddy, waterlogged land are ideal locations for their growth.

360 virtual learning journey @Sungei Buloh

http://kindred.silvrcraft.sg/Sungai%20Buloh/

How does Mangrove adapt to its environment?

The following photos were taken by me.

Aerial roots of the Mangrove on Pulau Konet, Malacca in Malaysia

Sonneratia mangrove near the jetty at Pulau Ubin. It has a more rounded breathing root sticking out of the ground.

Aerial roots (Avicennia) of the Mangrove in Sugei Buloh - many mudskippers.

knee like aerial roots of the Bruguiera

Snake on the Rhizophora tree in Sungei Buloh

Prop roots of the Rhizophora

The seed of Rhizophora is very heavy with sharp point that help it anchor onto the soil. Here you can see the how the plant germinate from the seed. Taken at Tanjong Piai, Johor in Malaysia 2017.

• Mangrove plants have special breathing roots to take in oxygen despite the waterlogged soil conditions.

• The larger trees are supported by stilt roots and do not fall over in the soft mud.

• The mangrove plant system is salt-tolerant. Leaves of mangrove plants secrete excess salt through the underside of their leaves.

• Fruits of the mangrove are javelin shaped, increasing their chances of germinating when they fall into the waterlogged sediments.

• Other fruits of the mangrove float away and germinate elsewhere.

Mangrove - guardian of the coast

Mangrove cleared for fish farms in Langkawi, Malaysia

Benefits clearing mangroves Benefits

Mangroves have been destroyed to be converted into

paddy fields and fish farms. This benefits the local

economy as it provides job opportunities and is an

important source of income for farmers. For example,

in Vietnam and Thailand, thousands of hectares of

mangroves have been converted for aquaculture

purposes.

Mangroves have also been destroyed to reclaim land

for housing, industry and recreational uses. For

example, at Bimini island, one of the Caribbean Islands,

mangroves have been cleared and land is reclaimed for

development of the tourism industry. The shorelines

have been extended to build resorts, hotels, golf

courses and marinas. This attracts wealthy tourists to

the area, so tourism expenditure has increased

significantly, benefiting the local economy.

Problems:

One problem caused by the destruction of mangroves

is that coasts become more vulnerable when

mangroves are destroyed. Mangroves play a key role

in stabilising shorelines. Their dense network of roots

absorb the energy of waves, thus slowing down the flow

of water. This network allows the sediments that are

washed down by rivers and washed up on coasts to

build up amongst mangrove roots. When mangroves

are destroyed, coastal areas are less protected from

erosion by tides, storm waves and tsunamis. For

example, during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, a

southern village in Sri Lanka which had degraded

mangroves suffered devastating impacts with over

5000 deaths, while its neighbouring village had two

deaths because it had 200 hectares of dense

mangroves, which absorbed much of the wave energy

and protected the shoreline.destroyed