Mangroves are one of the most important biomes on Earth for many important biological and non-biological reasons. Indonesia’s ecosystems are just as important as rainforest’s and coral reefs when it comes to keeping marine life alive and making biomass. Yet humans continue to harm them instead of protecting them.
What are mangroves, you ask?
Mangroves are a group of about 80 species of small trees and shrubs. They like the salty water along the coasts of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. These trees are unique because they can live in saltwater and use their leaves to get rid of extra salt. Mangroves are known for their many long roots, which often grow together in groups that look like nests. Some types of mangroves have roots called pneumatophores that grow up instead of out. This lets them take in oxygen even when their lower parts are underwater because of the tide.
What’s a Mangrove Forest, Anyway?
A mangrove forest can grow anywhere in nature where mangrove plants grow. Mangrove forests are found on every continent except Europe and Antarctica, according to NASA, scientist employ remote sensing to measure forest extent and tree height. Many kinds of animals live in these forest, some of which can’t be found anywhere else on Earth.
Satellite imagery has been utilized by scientists to create a global map of mangroves, which they have used to demonstrate the rapid loss of tropical mangrove forests in Southeast Asia, most notably in Indonesia and Myanmar.
Because mangroves absorb more carbon per hectare than inland forests, Indonesia has made fair emissions reduction targets:
UNFCCC on 22 July 2021—Indonesia has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 29% (500 MtCO2e) on its own by 2030, compared to a 2010 baseline, or by 41% with international assistance.
COP27 on 22 November 2021—Indonesia’s energy minister declares zero emission by 2060
“Indonesia has a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner, and that target must not slip away,” Chief Economic Minister Airlangga said at the annual United Nations climate conference in Egypt, known as COP27.
To achieve this, it plans to increase the share of renewable power in the national energy mix from 7.4 gigawatt’s to 20.9 GW, increase the annual growth rate of natural forests from 0.71 to 0.98 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year, and reduce deforestation while increasing reforestation. The government also plans to restore 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) of peatlands and 50,000 hectares (nearly 124,000 acres) of mangroves by 2024.
Aside from Asia, the new study found that Africa’s tidal wetlands had the highest loss to gain ratio. According to the study’s authors, this decline is “particularly pronounced in Nigeria, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau,” and is “related to major mangrove degradation.”
Why do mangroves matter so much?
There are many important things about mangrove habitats.
There is a lot of land and sea life in and around mangroves.
When there is more biodiversity in an ecosystem, it is better able to deal with things like disease and extinction.
These systems support some of the most important resources for human survival and environmental stability.
Biodiversity helps ecosystems adapt to climate change and continue making oxygen and absorbing CO2, which slows global warming.
About 40% of the world economy depends on biological resources.
By absorbing carbon dioxide, they reduce climate change.
The rate at which mangroves take carbon out of the air is the highest of any water or land ecosystem.
Mangroves cover 3% of the Amazon rainforest yet absorb 12% of its carbon dioxide.
Removed mangrove trees release massive volumes of soil-stored carbon.
Between 2000 and 2015, the destruction of mangroves is thought to have put about 122 million metric tons of carbon into the air.
They’re crucial to fighting climate change because they can absorb and store so much carbon in a small area.
In some parts of the world, mangroves are very important because they act as natural seawalls.
This keeps erosion from spreading and putting people’s homes in danger.
Mangroves are said to be able to take in 70–90% of the energy from normal waves.
After the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004, a comparison of two communities in Sri Lanka showed that the one protected by mangroves had only two deaths, while the other had 6,000 deaths.
Over 230,000 people died in the disaster, which is why people in Aceh province, Indonesia, are planting and growing mangroves as a natural barrier against future disasters.
Mangroves have a lot of natural resources that people can use.
From these trees, you can get wood for building, food, medicine, and honey.
They could be used instead of expensive, man-made sea walls to keep erosion and flooding at bay.
Can you tell me about the different kinds of mangroves?
Fringe
Most of the time, mangroves only cover a small part of the land near the coast. Mangroves like these keep the beach from being washed away by sand. They like places with a lot of salt because the tide is always washing over them.
Basin
Basin mangroves are the third most common type of mangrove in large forest areas, after fringe and riverine mangroves. Because tides don’t happen very often, soil salinity may be low to moderate. On the other hand, because of evaporation and rain, soil salinity may be quite high in places that are higher up. The mangroves in the basin are a very important part of keeping nutrients in the water. In these systems, carbon is stored better, nitrogen is cut down, and microorganisms and chemicals like pesticides that drain from crops are held in place better. They might be an effective way to clean up wastewater if the conditions are set up right.
Riverine
Riverine mangroves grow near rivers and get water from both the river and the ocean. Riverine mangroves are some of the most diverse and rich ecosystems in the world because they can live in both fresh and salt water. There is a lot of life in riverine mangroves. If it weren’t for riverine mangroves, construction and excavation materials from upstream would wash into the sea, stick to sensitive habitats like coral reefs, and hurt them.
Overwash
Overwash mangroves are like fringe mangroves, but they grow on small islands that are often covered by water. They are good places for birds to rest because they are away from land-based predators and have salt-resistant mangrove species.
Dwarf
In a dwarf mangrove forest, most dwarf trees don’t grow taller than 5 feet (or 1.5 meters). Because dwarf forests like soils that are rocky, low in nutrients, and high in salt, these conditions are typical for these types of ecosystems. Dwarf mangroves grow best at the very northern and southern ends of mangrove ranges.
Where Can Mangroves Be Found?
Mangroves can be found in the tropics and subtropics all over the world.
Indonesia is home to the world’s biggest mangrove forest. Brazil, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia are also home to mangrove forests.
Which animals live in mangroves, and what part of the food chain does this ecosystem support?
Because the mangrove forest has its own ecosystem, it is home to many different kinds of animals. Mangrove forests, for instance, are used by reef fish as nurseries. The thick, tangled roots provide a hidden habitat and a secure environment in which they may grow up.
Not only do reef fish benefit from warm seas, but so do mudskippers, which grow so strong in the water that they can use their pectoral fins to climb trees. Sharks also use the woods as a place to raise their young. The mangrove tree crab is one of many crab species that live in mangroves along the Atlantic coast of the Americas. It gets its name from the fact that it likes to eat mangrove leaves, insects, and bits of meat. The mud lobster is another crustacean that lives in mangroves. It is a great example of how ecosystems depend on each other. As they look for food, they dig huge holes in the mud. Snakes and young mangrove trees might do well in these tunnels, which would add to the health of the ecosystem.
Mangroves add variety not only to the sea environment but also to the land environment. The mangrove wetlands are the only place the Bornean proboscis monkeys know how to live. The mangrove Sonneratia is a great place for bats to live because its flowers bloom at night. This attracts hungry bats, which then spread the pollen they’ve gathered all over the forest. The Sundarbans mangroves are in India and Bangladesh. They are in the delta where the Ganges, Meghna, and Brahmaputra rivers meet, and they are a safe place for many endangered and well-known species.
In mangroves, the food chain is different. Worms and crabs live near the ground. They eat all the garbage they find in the mud. Fish are the next step up the food chain. Small worms and crustaceans are what they eat. The fish are then eaten by birds, crocodiles, and even big cats like tigers. At some point, these bigger apex predators would stop eating meat and start eating plants, like proboscis monkeys. Their main food source is the mangrove fruits.
Why do people cut down mangroves?
In the last 40 years, mangrove forests have been destroyed at a faster rate. In that time, 35% have been lost. Almost all of the mangrove forests in the world have been cut down. This is true even more so in Asia. A lot of different things led to the destruction. People used to think that mangroves smelled bad and didn’t do much, so they were cut down to make room for more profitable industries like farming and tourism.
Overuse of mangrove forests has led to their destruction in some places, even though people have used them for years to get things like firewood, animal feed, building materials, and charcoal. Dams and irrigation projects upstream reduce the amount of fresh water in deltas. This threatens the water conditions that mangroves need to thrive in brackish water, which is where salt water and fresh water meet.
The same rising water temperatures that are killing coral reefs because of climate change can also hurt mangroves. The reefs slow down the waves. Because coral reefs are dying, higher waves may now wash away nutrients and keep seedlings from taking root in mangroves.
Pollution is finally killing off mangrove forests. Pesticides and fertilizers used in farming are the main culprits because they get into water systems and end up in mangroves. People say that the main reason mangroves are disappearing is that pesticides are used so often in farming. Oil spills have done a lot of damage to the mangrove forests in the Niger delta in Nigeria.
Farming of shrimp
Shrimp farms are also a big reason why mangroves are being cut down. Shrimp has become more popular in the developed world over the last few decades, which is shown by the fact that each American eats four pounds of shrimp every year.
The governments of a number of South East Asian countries know that shrimp farming can be a good business and actively support it. From 1988 to 2008, the number of shrimp farms grew by more than five times. Most of this growth happened in China, Thailand, and Indonesia. Shrimp farming might bring in money in the short term, but destroying mangroves has long-term effects that put many economic sectors at risk.
Shrimp farming is a big cause of pollution and waste on land. When people raise shrimp, a lot of trash, leftover feed, pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals are dumped or washed out to sea, where they could hurt other marine life. When the buildup gets too bad, the pools are closed and new ones are put in their place. If the process means destroying important mangrove ecosystems, it can’t be done for long.
A rise in the sea level
Sea levels are going up because of climate change, which is a big problem for mangrove ecosystems. In the past, when the sea level rose, the forests moved inland. But because people are building more and more along the coasts, this is rarely possible these days. Most mangrove ecosystems are disappearing at an alarming rate. In the Sundarbans, for example, 71% of the coastline is disappearing at a rate of 200 meters per year.
Rising sea levels threaten mangroves because the water washes away the mud they need to live. As global warming, melting polar ice caps, and rising sea levels continue to get worse, mangroves, which are important for cutting carbon, will be destroyed.
Newly-arrived species
Long ago, people thought that mangrove forests were free of invasive species because mangroves have a unique way of living in salt water. But invasive species are a threat to mangroves because they hurt their ability to recover and hurt the many different kinds of life that live in them.
Asian antelope called Nilgais were brought to Texas for hunting, but they quickly ate up the mangrove forests in the area. Rats and cats that were brought to the Galapagos Islands have killed off most of the native plants and animals. This has led to the extinction of several species, including the Galapagos mangrove finch.
The world is watching, but how can we take action?
You can help stop the destruction of mangroves by reducing the many things you can do as a consumer that contribute to it. People could stop eating farmed shrimp, for example, to make it less profitable to cut down mangroves to make room for aquaculture. Adopting a plant-based diet, which uses on average 75% less land, could help stop the destruction of mangroves, which is caused by agriculture in general.
People who live near mangroves should find out what groups and organizations in their area are working to protect these ecosystems so they can help. You could also take a vacation in an area with mangroves, which could help ecotourism businesses that depend on the mangroves’ beauty and are therefore more likely to protect them.
Moving Forward
About 0.1% of the land on Earth is covered by mangroves. But in reality, they are one-of-a-kind ecosystems that play a big part in keeping the world healthy and keeping marine and land biodiversity. They keep coastal areas from being eroded or destroyed by natural disasters, sequester and store carbon better than any other biome, and are full of life and economic value. They help fight climate change and have unique ecosystems that should be protected for the sake of the many species that live there.