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Concept information

natural environment > wetland > mangrove
natural environment > palustrine environment > mangrove

Terme préférentiel

mangrove  

Définition

  • A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions. 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. Mangroves support sustainable coastal and marine ecosystems. They protect nearby areas from tsunamis and extreme weather events. Mangroves are the salt-tolerant evergreen forests, found in the intertidal zones of sheltered shores, estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters, lagoons, marshes and mudflats of the tropical and subtropical latitudes. Paradoxically, the mangroves exist under very hostile and inhospitable conditions. All the organisms living therein are well-adapted to encounter higher salinity, wind speed, temperature, muddy anaerobic soils and high tidal interference (Spalding et al. 1997; Spiers 1999; Kathiresan and Bingham 2001; Sandilyan 2010; Sandilyan et al. 2010a, b). In the due course of evolution, the mangrove plants have developed peculiar adaptations such as strong supporting, interlocking and breathing root system, viviparous mode of reproduction, salt regulation and nutrient retention (Kathiresan and Bingham 2001). Notably, mangroves are extraordinary ecosystems, providing many goods and services to humans particularly fisheries, forest products, pollution abatement and coastal protection against natural calamities. Mangrove forests are also effective at carbon sequestration and storage and impede climate change. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove and S. Sandilyan & K. Kathiresan (2012). Biodiversity and Conservation, 21, 3523-3542.)

Concept générique

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URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-MTVT8GHZ-J

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