For a plant, one of the harshest environments on earth is the intertidal zone. Half the day, inundated with salt water. The other half of the day, high and dry. 24 hours a day, strong tidal currents and crashing waves.
A tough place for a plant to survive. But mangroves are survivors. They thrive in these wild conditions that would quickly kill most plants.
How do they do it?
Through a series of impressive adaptations—including a filtration system that keeps out much of the salt and a complex root system that holds the mangrove upright in the shifting sediments where land and water meet
Not only do mangroves manage to survive in challenging conditions, the mangrove ecosystem also supports an incredible diversity of creatures. As well, mangrove forests are extremely important to our own well-being and to the health of the planet.
Mangroves form dense barriers against storms and tsunamis, saving lives and protecting property. They also provide us with many other important benefits; mangroves produce seafood, fruits, medicines, fiber, and wood. Up to 70% of all commercially harvested fish on the Great Barrier Reef, spend a part of their lifecycle in the mangroves.
They stabilize shores by trapping sediments and building land. They improve water quality by filtering runoff and polluted waters. They protect the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas. All in all, researchers estimate, the world's mangrove forests provide human communities with many billions of dollars worth of free services
The question is: Will mangroves be able to survive the impact of human activities?
Despite their critical importance, mangroves are disappearing at an alarming rate around the world. Human development, port development, and aquaculture are rapidly replacing the mangrove trees and the ecosystems they support. There are a few places where mangrove cover is increasing. But, in just in the last decade, at least 35 percent of the world's mangroves have been destroyed. That is a rate of loss that exceeds the disappearance of tropical rainforests.
It is time to appreciate our mangrove forests. In Queensland, all mangroves are completely protected under the Fisheries Act 1994. Let’s keep it that way.
Contributed by Whitsunday Conservation Council.
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