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Mangroves are hardy shrubs and trees that thrive in salt water and have specialised adaptations so they can survive the volatile energies of intertidal zones along marine coasts. A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal ...
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. [1] [2] Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withstand freezing temperatures. There are about 80 different species of mangroves, all of which ...
The main types of intertidal wetlands are mudflats (e.g., mangrove swamps) and salt marshes. The mangrove swamps are encountered along tropical shores and are characterized by tree vegetation, while salt marshes are mostly found in temperate zones and are mostly grass ecosystems. [1] Intertidal wetlands are commonly encountered in most estuaries.
Like estuaries, mangrove swamps are extremely important breeding grounds for many fish, with species such as snappers, halfbeaks, and tarpon spawning or maturing among them. Besides fish, numerous other animals use mangroves, including such species as the saltwater crocodile , American crocodile , proboscis monkey , diamondback terrapin , and ...
Saltwater tidal marshes live on coastlines in areas that are not completely exposed to the open ocean. The volume of water is dependent on the tides. Plant variation throughout marshes can be due to differences in tide exposure and frequency. [7] Some different types include bottomland hardwood swamps, mangrove swamps, and palustrine wetlands. [13]
Mangroves form a distinct characteristic saline woodland or shrubland habitat, called a mangrove swamp or mangrove forest. [39] Mangrove swamps are found in depositional coastal environments, where fine sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action. Mangroves dominate three quarters of ...
Mangroves also help protect the health and overall biodiversity of surrounding ecosystems by acting as a water filter. Filtration is enabled by the mangrove's capability to absorb and store heavy metals that would otherwise result in the release of metal pollution into nearshore water bodies. [59] Mangroves are also efficient sites of carbon ...
Mangrove swamps form a type of coastal wetland found in the tropics and subtropics. [5] Within a mangrove forest, the most salt-tolerant species occur near the ocean. Excoecaria agallocha , known as a back mangrove, is found at higher elevations back away from the ocean where salinity is lower. [ 6 ]