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2 - Global patterns of mangrove extinction risk: implications for ecosystem services and biodiversity loss

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

By
Beth A. Polidoro ,
Kent E. Carpenter ,
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas ,
Joanna C. Ellison ,
Nico E. Koedam  and
Jean W. H. Yong
Edited by
Brooke Maslo  and
Julie L. Lockwood
Beth A. Polidoro
Affiliation:
Dominion University and Arizona State University
Kent E. Carpenter
Affiliation:
Dominion University
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas
Affiliation:
Université Libre de Bruxelles – ULB
Joanna C. Ellison
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania
Nico E. Koedam
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB
Jean W. H. Yong
Affiliation:
Singapore University of Technology and Design
Brooke Maslo
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Julie L. Lockwood
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
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Summary

What are mangroves?

Mangroves are unique plant species found in tropical and subtropical estuarine and nearshore marine regions worldwide. Mangrove species have several physiological adaptations to saline, water-saturated soils, including viviparous or cryptoviviparous seeds that disperse by water, and salt-exclusion or salt-excretion capabilities to cope with high salt concentrations in nearshore saturated soils and sediments. Many species also have specialized aerial roots, or pneumatophores, that enable oxygenation of roots in water-logged soils. Species restricted to tropical intertidal habitat have been defined as “true mangrove” species, while those not exclusive to this habitat are sometimes referred to as “mangrove associates” (Lugo & Snedaker, 1974). Others include as mangroves any tree, shrub, palm, or ground fern exceeding 0.5 m in height and which normally grows in the intertidal zone of tropical coastal or estuarine environments (Duke, 1992). In view of the global variety of mangrove types and their floristics, there are approximately 70 species of mangroves, which are quite taxonomically diverse, as they represent 17 families (Table 2.1). The Mangrove Reference Database and Herbarium provides a larger overview of all known species, subspecies and hybrids (Massó i Alemán et al., 2010).

Type
Chapter
Information
Coastal Conservation , pp. 15 - 36
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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References

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