Caribbean Mangrove Swamps
By: Klaus Rützler and Ilka C. Feller
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- Mangrove swamps are land and sea that intertwine, where the line dividing ocean and continent blurs
- Mangrove forests appear puny, monotonous, and depauperate
- Mangrove trees are able to either exclude or excrete salt from their tissues
- These plants can also sprout aerial roots that permit the exchange of gas for aerobic respiration
- This adaptation allows the trees to survive despite being firmly rooted in oxygen-deprived intertidal soils
- Mangrove communities develop only near the sea because they cannot compete successfully with freshwater flora
- Mangroves are also limited by a need for rather balmy conditions
- Trees cannot survive in places where the average water temperature falls below about 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Mangrove swamps fall in two categories of classification as either mainland or oceanic island
- Mainland mangroves must usually cope with a pronounced variation in salinity across their width
- Oceanic mangroves forms on shallow banks or in lagoonal areas well separated from mainland
- Ian G. Macintyre disproved that the mangroves at Twin Cays did not begin growing on coral, but the community established itself from 7,000 years ago on elevated ground
- The periphery of Twin Cays and its canals is bordered by tall red mangroves that extend stilt-like roots into the deeper water, beyond the peat bank that supports the trees
- Black and white mangrove mark zones of shallow floodwater and extended mudflats that develop as the tide moves in and out
- The brine that remains in pools often contains a high concentration of salt
- It was found that hypersaline conditions in the upper reaches of the intertidal zone favor black mangrove seedlings because that species has the greatest tolerance for salt
- White mangrove seedlings cannot survive the salinity and the periodic flooding that
sweeps this region, and hence these trees are restricted to higher ground - The interior of Twin Cays is lined with numerous shallow ponds and mudflats
- Some of these areas are now without growing trees; some places contain eroded stumps of large trees that must have towered there in the past
- Living within the upper forest levels at Twin Cays are countless insects, lizards, snakes and birds
- The increased salinity and high temperature of the mudflats accounted for the slow growth
of these bonsai-like mangrove trees - The richest and most densely populated habitat in the mangrove swamp surrounds the subtidal area of the red mangrove stilt roots.
- Mangrove seedlings take hold and grow much better in the shade than in the open, indicating that the natural repair of damaged swamps may prove too slow to keep up with
the erosion of denuded land - The richness of life contained within the mangrove forest at Twin Cays raises immediate concern for the risk to biodiversity that develops as such delicate environments are lost to human hands
- After mangrove forests are cut, it may be difficult or even impossible for them to recover because irreversible changes in the fundamental structure of the ecosystem ensue once
the trees are destroyed - People often cut down trees to build houses and facilities
- Mangrove swamps support varieties of animals and the loss of these will increase the threat to the natural wealth of the ocean
Most of the mysteries are still yet unknown by researchers and surprises are bound to happen. The struggle to make out of the environment by how mangroves operate are difficult to understand. As a result, they classified these as either mainland or oceanic island to start off with. Mangrove swamps grow near the coastal areas where the land and sea intertwine. Mangroves appear puny, monotonous, and pepauperate. The communities in mangroves only develop near the sea because of the inability to compete in freshwater flora. They can't survive where water temperatures are below 23 degrees Celsius which is about 73 degrees Fahrenheit. From the discovery of Twin Cays, they find that its establishment of communities occurred around 7,000 years ago on elevated ground. It was composed of three types of mangroves; red, black, and white. Each one has a different method of coping with its surroundings. Red mangroves are shown to be the most richest and most densely populated habitat in the mangrove swamp in its stilt roots. The black mangroves supports high tolerance of salt concentrations and white mangroves are restricted to higher grounds since it cannot handle the increasing levels of salinity and flooding. In the upper forest levels of Twin Cays, species that live there includes insects, lizards, snakes, and birds. They are greatly in danger by the trees that are cut down by humans who use for the construction of houses and facilities as its needed for protection from the intensity of the sun. In reacting to these losses, it may be difficult or even impossible for mangroves to recover due to irreversible changes in the fundamental structure of the ecosystem once the trees no longer exist. Considering the fact that the growth rates for mangroves are typically slow because of high salinity and temperature of mudflats, communities may possibly wipe out. In the end, humans need to recognize the mangrove swamps to be valuable in offering beneficial services to varieties of animals and the loss of these can increase the threat to the natural wealth of the ocean.
After looking into the complexity of mangrove swamps, it made me realize how our human race deprive the delicate species to live undisturbed in its environment to pieces of wooden dust. The impact of cutting down trees are harmful because it affects everything living in it and around it. In the eyes of us blinded by using the environment to our advantage, we don't both appreciate the nature of itself and how it should not be interfered as it is the roots and the basis of all life in the ecosystem to survive in mangroves. By spreading the knowledge, its the best way to encourage the people to not cut down trees and reverse the growth rates to increase and make mangroves stable from harm.