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Details
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Mangrove forests are fertile wetlands that grow in coastal intertidal zones. They are also known as mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets, or mangals. Due to mangroves’ inability to survive subfreezing temperatures, mangrove forests are primarily found in tropical and subtropical latitudes.
Around 80 different species of mangroves have been identified as existing on maritime beaches throughout the world. Based on remote sensing and worldwide data for 2010, the Global Mangrove Watch Initiative published a global baseline in 2018.
According to this, there are mangrove forests in 118 different countries and territories with a total area of 137,600 km2 (53,100 sq mi) as of 2010.
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Changes In Mangrove Forests
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- In the face of infrastructural development, urbanization, and agricultural land conversion, mangroves are disappearing at a rate that is three to five times faster than the overall loss of world forest cover, according to UNESCO.
- A fifth of the degradation of mangrove ecosystems is due to shrimp cultivation.
- Climate Change – Greater sea level increases have been linked to the breakdown of the mangrove ecosystem, according to recent studies.
- Illegal logging, invasive species, and a decline in biodiversity have also altered mangrove distribution.
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Impacts Of Changes In Mangrove
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- Ecological Destabilization as mangroves serves as a reservoir in the tertiary absorption of waste, helping to construct and preserve the soil.
- Loss of Biodiversity with loss of mangroves as diverse varieties of fauna, including birds, fish, insects, mammals, and plants, find habitat and safety here.
- Mangrove forests protect the shoreline from erosion caused by storm surges, currents, waves, and tides. Hence, these also protect human life and property in coastal areas. For example, during the 2004 Tsunami coastal communities in Tamil Nadu suffered minimal damage.
- Positive Feedback to Climate Change – because these represent 10–15% of carbon burial.
- Loss of LIvelihood to many coastal communities dependent upon mangroves for their fuel and fodder.
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