Welcome to the importance of mangroves page. On this page you will learn about each type Red, Black and White mangroves and the important role they play in the ecosystem. So……. Are you ready to learn?
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Black mangroves, Avicennia germinans, have pneumatophores that stick out of the mud providing aeration for underground roots. They are there for oxygen. The reason Black mangroves are important is that they trap and cycle various organic materials, chemical elements, and important nutrients in the coastal ecosystem. Unlike other mangroves that filter out salt, Black mangroves take in salt and excrete 99% of it on the back of the leaves, and of course, the other 1% goes to a sacrificial leaf. (Picture Credit: http://www40.brinkster.com/universal007/blackmangrovesphotos.html) |
A White mangrove (Laguncularia Racemosa) may have pneumatophores like a black mangrove.The importance of a white mangrove is that their sacrificial leaf drops off and feeds the herbivore fish. A white mangrove, unlike other mangroves grow fruit! You can eat it. (Picture Credit: http://www.butbn.cas.cz/hajek/africa/Photo%20Gallery/KwaZulu%20Natal/Kosi%20Bay/slides/White%20Mangrove.html ) |  |
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Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) have warty growths that allow O2 inside. The red mangrove is important to us because it gives us oxygen and we need oxygen to breath. In some places animals go in and out with the tide. Red mangroves are impotent because they are a nursery to other animals in the sea. (Picture credit: http://cchscostarica08.pbworks.com/w/page/10489057/Tidal%20Mangrove%20Swamp )
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