Mangrove

A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres (53,200 sq mi), spanning 118 countries and territories.Shah Bundar, Sujawal, Pakistan, new mangrove plantationA young mangrove plantation in the Indus DeltaFlourishing mangroves along Karachi coast, PakistanGrowing mangrove plantation at Keti Bundar, Thatta, PakistanMangrove Park in Kannur, IndiaSihcao, Tainan, TaiwanYap, MicronesiaPichavaram, IndiaIriomote Island, Japan A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres (53,200 sq mi), spanning 118 countries and territories. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to life in harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low oxygen conditions of waterlogged mud. The word is used in at least three senses: (1) most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove forest biome, and mangrove swamp are also used, (2) to refer to all trees and large shrubs in the mangrove swamp, and (3) narrowly to refer to the mangrove family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifically just to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora. The mangrove biome, or mangal, is a distinct saline woodland or shrubland habitat characterized by depositional coastal environments, where fine sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action. The saline conditions tolerated by various mangrove species range from brackish water, through pure seawater (3 to 4%), to water concentrated by evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater (up to 9%). Mangrove forests move carbon dioxide 'from the atmosphere into long-term storage' in greater quantities than other forests, making them 'among the planet's best carbon scrubbers' according to a NASA-led study based on satellite data. The term 'mangrove' comes to English from Spanish (perhaps by way of Portuguese), and is likely to originate from Guarani. It was earlier 'mangrow' (from Portuguese mangue or Spanish mangle), but this word was corrupted via folk etymology influence of the word 'grove'. Mangrove swamps (mangals) are found in tropical and subtropical tidal areas. Areas where mangroves occur include estuaries and marine shorelines. The intertidal existence to which these trees are adapted represents the major limitation to the number of species able to thrive in their habitat. High tide brings in salt water, and when the tide recedes, solar evaporation of the seawater in the soil leads to further increases in salinity. The return of tide can flush out these soils, bringing them back to salinity levels comparable to that of seawater.