Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, [13] [17] for which the terms mangrove forest biome and mangrove swamp are also used; To refer to all trees and large shrubs in a mangrove swamp; [13] and; Narrowly to refer only to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora of the family Rhizophoraceae. [18]
All three mangrove species flower in the spring and early summer. Propagules fall from late summer through early autumn. [1] These plants have differing adaptions to conditions along coasts, and are generally found in partially overlapping bands or zones, roughly parallel to the shoreline.
Other plants found in association with mangroves include the mangrove lily (Crinum pedunculatum). [11] Mangrove forests share the high intertidal zone niche with coastal or intertidal saltmarshes; plant communities dominated by salt-resistant or salt-tolerant herbs and low shrubs. [12]
A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. The word derives from Ancient Greek ἅλας (halas) 'salt' and φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'.
The same area in Honduras shown in 1987 (bottom) and 1999 showing the corresponding removal of mangrove swamps for shrimp farming. Mangroves occur on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Mangroves can also be found in many of the Antilles including Puerto Rico, [18 ...
World map of mangrove distribution. Mangrove forests are found in 118 countries and territories worldwide, [1] 75% of mangrove vegetation zones are located in intertidal tropic and sub-tropic habitats situated between 25° N and 25° S .
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] Mangroves of this plant surround the ancient Thillai Chidambaram Temple in Tamil Nadu. This small tree species may grow up to 15 m high.