The Importance Of Mangroves

Question 1

What are Mangroves:

Answer 1

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 lattitudes 25’ N and 25’ S.

Question 2

Why are they important:

Answer 2

They sequester 1.5 metric tonnes of carbon per hectare per year.
If just 2% of the world’s mangroves are lost, the carbon released will be 50 times the natural sequestration rate.
They prevent coastal erosion.
They trap nutrie3nt rich sediment.
They provide protection against extreme weather and tsunamis.
They provide fish nurseries.
520 million people rely on fisheries.

Question 3

Threats:

Answer 3

They are being cleared for tourism, shrimp farms, and aquaculture.
Shrimp farms pose the greatest threat. Hundreds of thousands of acres are being cleared to create artificial ponds.
Climate change poses a threat to mangroves.
Mangroves, according to IPCC forecasts,
are predicted to decline in area, and
structural complexity.

Question 4

Synoptic Link - Coasts:

Answer 4

Mangroves are essential defenses for coasts against coastal erosion, storm surges, and tsunamis.
A root cause of the massive fatalities during the 2001 Indian Ocean Tsunami was the loss of mangroves along the Pacific coast.
Mangroves were cleared to create tourism resorts and beaches, which increased the environmental vulnerability of coasts settlements and put tourists
in direct risk from tsunamis.
The loss of mangroves is accelerating due to coastalisation.