Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal

Mangroves are woody trees or shrubs that grow in mangrove habitats or mangal (Hogarth, 1999). The mangrove is often considered a type of biome. Mangrove habitat is exclusively tropical and tidal, and therefore having soil or sediment that is water-logged and saline or of variable salinity. Areas where mangal occurs includes estuaries and marine shorelines. A wide variety of plant species can be found in mangrove habitat, but some 54 species in 20 genera, belonging to 16 families constitute the "true mangroves" — species that occur exclusively in mangrove habitats and rarely elsewhere (Hogarth, 1999).

The roots of the mangrove plants stabilize the sand and mud. In areas of the world where mangroves have been removed for development purposes, the coastline has been subject to rapid erosion. They also provide a habitat for wildlife and serve as a natural buffer to strong winds and waves produced by cyclones. In Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and India, mangrove plantations are grown in coastal regions for this purpose.

The mangrove species, Sonneratia, growing on the landward margin of the reef flat on Yap and showing abundant pneumatophores

Species of mangroves

The following listing (after Tomlinson, 1986) gives the number of species of mangroves in each listed plant genus and family.

Major components

Family Avicenniaceae

• Avicennia – 8

Family Combretaceae

• Laguncularia – 1
• Lumnitzera – 2

Family Arecaceae

• Nypa – 1

Family Rhizophoraceae

• Bruguiera – 6
• Ceriops – 2
• Kandelia – 1
• Rhizophora – 8

Family Sonneratiaceae

• Sonneratia – 5

Minor components

Family Bombacaceae

• Camptostemon – 2

Family Euphorbiaceae

• Excoecaria – 2

Family Lythraceae

• Pemphis – 1

Family Meliaceae

• Xylocarpus – 2

Family Myrsinaceae

• Aegiceras – 2

Family Myrtaceae

• Osbornia – 1

Family Pellicieraceae

• Pelliciera – 1

Family Plumbaginaceae

• Aegialitis – 2

Family Pteridaceae

• Acrostichum – 3

Family Rubiaceae

• Scyphiphora – 1

Family Sterculiaceae

• Heritiera – 3

Mangrove ecoregions

Reference

• Hogarth, Peter J. 1999. The Biology of Mangroves. Oxford Univ. Press. 228 p. ISBN 0198502222
• Thanikaimoni, G. 1986. Mangrove Palynology. UNDP/UNESCO and the French Institute of Pondicherry, 104 p. ISSN 0073-8336 (E).
• Tomlinson, P. B. 1986. The Botany of Mangroves. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

External link

• The story of the UNESCO Mangrove Programme
• WWF article about the mangrove biome
• East African Mangroves
• Coastal wetland and shoreline change mapping of Pichavaram, south east coast of India using Satellite data
• Status of Indian Mangroves: Pollution Status of Pichavaram Mangrove, Southeast Coast of India