Mangroves, which lie on the land-sea interface regions, disappear worldwide at a rate of 1%-2% each year. Their degradation is due to a variety of factors, including human intervention (eg clearing of land for shrimp hatcheries and rice cultivation), pollution, and anthropogenic activities. 40% of Mumbai’s mangroves disappeared in 10 years.
Mangrove forests play an essential role in supplying food, timber, and fuel, and are hence important for the local economy of coastal populations. They act as barriers, reducing the ferocity of wind and swell waves (when the wind and waves pass through the aerial roots and branches of a mangrove, they lose energy), protecting the coast from cyclones, storms, floods, tsunamis, and debris. Mangroves also prevent the erosion of soil and make the shoreline stronger.
Containing alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes, flavonoids, and other such compounds, the trees of mangrove forests possess medicinal properties and are used against diseases in traditional medicine. Parts of the trees show anticancer, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial activity.
Mangroves are important breeding and feeding grounds for fish and shrimp species, and larvae often use mangrove roots for shelter and protection. It is believed that a third of all marine species use mangroves for shelter and protection when they are young. Other organisms, like herons, nest in the canopy of the mangrove forests. These forests support a complicated ecosystem. Due to the degradation of mangroves, around 40% of mangrove-dependent species are believed to be at the risk of extinction.
One study found that, compared to an undisturbed mangrove, a disturbed mangrove had significantly lower prokaryotic biomass, sedimentary concentrations of chlorophyll, quantity of sedimentary fats, carbohydrates, proteins (organic compounds), and meiofaunal abundance and diversity (meiofauna are invertebrates that support the mangrove food-web and are preyed on by juvenile fish). The results show that degradation of mangroves reduces biodiversity and gravely affects the mangrove ecosystem.
A study based in the Klang Island Forest Reserves, Malaysia, found that the mangroves housed 68 species of terrestrial vertebrates and 10 species of trees. The study also noted that mangroves were declining in the Klang Island Forest Reserves due to land reclamation, aquaculture, and agriculture, and that large mammals were not found in the study, which suggests that they had gone extinct.
Works Cited
A., Norhayati, et al. “Mangrove Flora and Fauna of Klang Islands Mangrove Forest Reserves, Selangor, Malaysia.” Malaysian Journal of Science, vol. 28, no. 3, 31 Dec. 2009, pp. 275–288, https://doi.org/10.22452/mjs.vol28no3.6.
Arceo-Carranza, D., et al. “Mangroves as Feeding and Breeding Grounds.” Mangroves: Ecology, Biodiversity and Management, 2021, pp. 63–95, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2494-0_3.
Baishya, Somorita, et al. “Therapeutic Potentials of Littoral Vegetation: An Antifungal Perspective.” Biotechnological Utilization of Mangrove Resources, 2020, pp. 275–292, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819532-1.00011-1.
Carugati, Laura, et al. “Impact of Mangrove Forests Degradation on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning.” Scientific Reports, vol. 8, no. 1, 5 Sept. 2018, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31683-0, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31683-0.
Henry, A, et al. “Extinction, Causes Of.” Elsevier EBooks, 1 Jan. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-822562-2.00131-6. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
Manas Ranjan Mohanta, et al. “Assessment of Species Diversity and Physicochemical Characteristics of Mangrove Vegetation in Odisha, India.” Elsevier EBooks, 1 Jan. 2020, pp. 135–151, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819532-1.00006-8. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
National Geographic Society. “The Mangrove Ecosystem.” Education.nationalgeographic.org, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/the-mangrove-ecosystem/.
Pathak, Sushmita. “Mangroves Help Fight the Effects of Climate Change. So Why Is Mumbai Destroying Them?” NPR.org, 25 Nov. 2019, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/11/25/781990792/mangroves-help-fight-the-effects-of-climate-change-so-why-is-mumbai-destroying-t.
Spalding, Mark, et al. Mangroves for Coastal Defence Guidelines for Coastal Managers & Policy Makers Published By. 2014.
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