document_title: Susan Mayer

question_text: who plays susan's mom on desperate housewives

question_tokens: who plays susan 's mom on desperate housewives

text: Susan Mayer

text: Development and casting[edit]

text: While developing the series, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry envisioned Susan as a girl next door and chose her to convey this image.[6] In the original pilot, the character's surname was spelled "Meyer" but had to be changed to "Mayer" for clearance purposes.[7] Cherry commented, "I knew Susan was going to be my anchor character, and I didn't really know my take on her at first. And then it occurred to me that one of these women should be divorced ... I thought there was something so real about a woman saying, 'I don't have much time left,' and when this available hunky guy moves onto the street, something in her saying 'Let me at him'".[8] The character is a compendium of single mothers in Cherry's life "desperate to land a man".[9] He also drew upon his own personal experiences while creating the character.[10]

text: Julia Louis-Dreyfus expressed interest in the role, but ABC executives felt she was not right for the part.[11] Actors originally considered for the role include Courteney Cox,[12] Calista Flockhart,[12][13] Heather Locklear,[12] Mary-Louise Parker,[12][14] and Sela Ward.[15] Cherry wrote the part with Parker in mind,[16][17] but she rejected the offer, later explaining "it just didn’t feel like I was gonna  [sic] serve it as well as someone else might".[14] Teri Hatcher auditioned for the role in January 2004 and impressed Cherry immediately.[18] After a second audition, Hatcher read for the role in front of network executives. Cherry praised her performance, saying "it was the best audition I've ever seen in network".[16] Hatcher later commented, "I don't think they were hot to hire me for Susan ... I was maybe on a B-list, certainly not an A-list".[19] Despite her reservations, Hatcher was the third reported cast member to have been cast in the series on February 18, 2004.[20]

text: Personality and characteristics[edit]

text:
...[I]t was common knowledge on Wisteria Lane [that] where Susan Mayer went, bad luck was sure to follow. Her misfortunes ranged from the commonplace, to the unusual, to the truly bizarre.

Mary Alice Young[21]

tag: div

text: Susan is primarily characterized as the girl next door. Teri Hatcher stated "I’m not exactly her, but I get her. I get her insecurities, her flaws."[22] She called the character "a great representation of what [everyone] deals with daily. Our responsibilities can be overwhelming and things often don't go as you planned, so you have to roll with it. Susan celebrates rolling with it".[23] She is a hopeless romantic and often expresses her more openly and vulnerably than the other characters in the series.[24][25] The series begins a year after Susan's first divorce, when she is still emotionally raw. Throughout the series, several other characters have confronted Susan about her inability to live happily and without drama.[26][27][28] Susan has a close relationship with her daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), who often acts as the parent figure in the relationship.[5][24][29]

text: Susan's accident-proneness is commonly used throughout the series to provide comic relief.[30][31] Her susceptibility to bad luck and embarrassing situations have created some of the series' most memorable moments, including accidentally burning down Edie's house and being locked out of her own house completely naked.[5][32][33] Susan's poor cooking skills have also become a running gag in the series.[24][32][34][35]

text: History[edit]

text: Past[edit]

text: Susan Bremmer was raised by single mother Sophie Bremmer (Lesley Ann Warren). She was told her father was a United States Merchant Marine who died in the Battle of Hanoi during the Vietnam War.[36] She was a cheerleader in high school and graduated as valedictorian of her class.[37][38] She graduated from community college with an art degree.[39][40] Eventually, Susan began writing and illustrating children's books, the first of which was Ants in My Picnic Basket.[41]

text: In her early twenties, Susan married Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi) and gave birth to their daughter, Julie, at age 26.[42] In 1992, the family moved to Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State, where Susan befriended Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), her new neighbor.[43] Susan became close friends with Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) when they moved to Wisteria Lane. In 2003, Karl left Susan for his secretary, Brandi (Anne Dudek).[32][44] The two divorced and agreed to share custody of Julie,[45] although she chose to live primarily with Susan.[46]

text: Season 1[edit]

text: A year after her divorce, Susan takes an interest in Mike Delfino (James Denton), a plumber who has recently moved in across the street. Susan begins dating Mike, despite competition from Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan).[32] Meanwhile, Susan begins investigating Mary Alice's suicide after she and her friends discover a blackmail note addressed to her.[32] Later, Susan discovers that Mary Alice's husband, Paul (Mark Moses), had their son, Zach (Cody Kasch), committed to a youth mental institution after he broke into the Van de Kamp house and decorated it for Christmas,[47] Julie begins corresponding with Zach without Susan's knowledge and hides him in her room when he escapes from the institution. When Susan finds Zach in her home, she and Mike return him to Paul;[29] however, Julie and Zach continue dating.[48] Paul fabricates unconvincing lies to thwart Susan's efforts to discover his family's secrets too.[49]

text: As her relationship with Mike progresses, Susan becomes suspicious of his past, especially when she finds a gun and large sums of money in his kitchen cabinets.[50] Additionally, evidence connecting Mike to the murder of Wisteria Lane resident, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook), surfaces.[51] Susan ends the relationship when police inform her that Mike was convicted of manslaughter and drug trafficking.[52] However, Susan learns the murder was accidental and the two renew their relationship and agree that Mike will move into Susan's house.[53][54] While Mike is away on business, Susan finds Zach, armed with a handgun, in Mike's house. He vows to kill Mike when he comes home as he believes Mike killed Paul.[55]

text: Season 2[edit]

text: When Mike arrives home, Zach's murder scheme backfires and he runs away. Mike informs Susan that he recently learned that Zach is his biological son.[56] Susan agrees to help Mike search for Zach and finds him in a nearby park. When Zach expresses hope of rekindling his romance with Julie, she gives him money to look for Paul in Utah.[57] When Mike finds out about her betrayal, he ends their relationship.[58] Susan decides to write an autobiography following the break-up. While researching her father, she learns that her mother lied and her father is local business owner Addison Prudy (Paul Dooley).[36] She tries to establish a relationship with her reluctant father, but her attempts are effectively unsuccessful.[59]

text: Meanwhile, Susan is dismayed to learn that Karl has moved in with Edie.[60] She begins dating her doctor, Ron McCready (Jay Harrington), who informs her that she has a wandering spleen and will need a splenectomy.[61][62] When Susan learns that her health insurance will not cover the operation, Karl offers to remarry her for his medical benefits. They agree to keep their sham marriage a secret from Edie and Ron.[63] While under anesthesia before her operation, Susan professes her love for Mike to Ron,[64] which prompts Ron to break up with her.[65] Soon after, Karl leaves Edie, as his love for Susan has resurfaced.[66] Upon learning that Susan is the other woman, Edie intentionally sets Susan's house on fire.[67] In this time of need, both Mike and Karl vie for Susan's affections. She chooses to rekindle her relationship with Mike and Karl signs the divorce papers. Susan and Mike then make plans to meet for dinner at nearby Torch Lake, where Mike plans to propose. On his way to dinner, Mike is a victim of a hit-and-run at the hands of Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan),[68] a dentist whom Susan had recently befriended.[27][69]

text: Season 3[edit]

text: As a result of the hit-and-run, Mike falls into a coma.[70] Having waited six months for Mike to wake up, she reluctantly enters a relationship with Ian Hainsworth (Dougray Scott), a British man whose wife, Jane (Cecily Gambrell), has been in a coma for years.[70][71] When Mike finally awakens, doctors conclude that he now suffers from retrograde amnesia. While Susan is out of town, Edie convinces Mike that Susan was horrible to him during their relationship.[72] Mike turns Susan away when she returns to Fairview.[72][73] Having lost hope, Susan continues her romance with Ian.[74] Meanwhile, Susan is suspicious of Orson, who has married Bree and is accused of killing his missing ex-wife, Alma (Valerie Mahaffey).[70][71] When Mike is arrested for the murder of Monique Polier (Kathleen York), Orson's former mistress, Edie breaks up with him, leaving him without bail.[75] Susan defends Mike, which frustrates Ian. He promises to pay for Mike's bail if Susan breaks off all contact with him.[34] Mike is eventually acquitted for the crime.[76] Following Jane's death, Susan accepts Ian's marriage proposal.[77]

text: As he slowly regains his memory, Mike recalls his feelings for Susan and challenges Ian for her affections.[78][79] When Susan learns that the two had made a bet on her in a game of poker, she calls off the wedding and declares that she does not want to see either of them again.[80] Realizing that letting both of them go is a mistake, Susan decides to take Ian back. However, he tells her that he cannot spend the rest of his life wondering if she is still in love with Mike, and he leaves.[81] Susan and Mike reunite and become engaged.[28][82] The couple get married in a private ceremony in the woods, with Julie as their only guest.[83]

text: Season 4[edit]

text: In the fourth season premiere, one month after her wedding, Susan learns that she is pregnant.[84] While looking into their medical histories for the baby's interest, Mike is forced to tell Susan that he lied about his father being dead. Susan visits Mike's father, Nick (Robert Forster), who is in jail for murder. Nick warns Susan that Mike is still troubled by demons of his past.[42] With the stress of finances for the baby, Mike begins working overtime, despite an injury resulting from the hit-and-run over a year ago. He begins relying heavily on painkillers.[85] Susan confronts Mike about his addiction, threatening to leave him if he does not enter rehab; he agrees to admit himself.[86] After a devastating tornado hits Wisteria Lane, Bree, Orson, and their newborn, Benjamin, move into Susan's house temporarily.[87] During his stay, Orson develops a sleep walking habit and unconsciously admits to running over Mike with his car.[88] Susan feels extremely betrayed and Bree, unable to forgive Orson, asks him to move out.[89] Shortly after, Susan gives birth to a boy,[90] whom she names Maynard, after Mike's deceased grandfather.[91]

text: Five-year jump[edit]

text: In the five years that take place between seasons four and five, Susan and Mike are involved in a car crash that kills a mother and her daughter.[92] Although Susan was driving, Mike takes the blame, as Susan did not have her license with her at the time.[93] Susan feels incredibly guilty for taking the lives of Lila (Marie Caldare) and Paige Dash (Madeleine Michelle Dunn), but Mike insists it was not their fault. The argument over the topic becomes so great that it results in divorce.[94] Giving up on love, Susan engages in a casual relationship with her house painter, Jackson Braddock (Gale Harold).[94]

text: Season 5[edit]

text: While Susan manages to keep her relationship with Jackson a secret from her friends and her son, nicknamed M.J., Jackson seeks a deeper connection with her.[92] Soon enough, Mike and M.J. learn about the relationship.[95] Jackson makes the sudden announcement that he is moving to nearby Riverton for work and asks Susan to come with him.[96] After much consideration, Susan decides that she is unsure of what she wants and turns down Jackson's offer.[97] Also, Mike moves across the street from Susan and begins dating her close friend and neighbor, Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany).[98][99] Realizing she cannot keep Mike from being happy, she gives the couple her blessing, despite still feeling uncomfortable.[99] Susan and Mike decide to enroll M.J. in private school, and Susan takes a job as an assistant art teacher at the school to help pay for the tuition.[100] With both Susan and Mike employed, M.J. spends more time under Katherine's care, which makes Susan uneasy. She is heartbroken to learn that Mike and Katherine have decided to move in with one another and become engaged.[101][102]

text: Susan attempts to console Edie's husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), following Edie's death. She explains the truth behind her own accident, completely unaware that Lila and Paige Dash were Dave's wife and daughter, respectively, and that he had been seeking revenge on Mike since moving to Wisteria Lane.[93] Meanwhile, Jackson returns to Fairview and proposes to Susan, revealing that his visa has expired and he needs to marry an American citizen.[103] When Susan learns that Mike, who is engaged to Katherine, will no longer have to pay alimony once she is married, she explains the false pretenses of her engagement. Dave, who now understands that Susan was driving the car that killed his family, overhears this and reports Jackson to immigration officials.[102] With Jackson out of the picture, Dave invites Susan and M.J. on a fishing trip,[104] planning to kill M.J. just like Susan killed his own child.[105] Mike discovers Dave's plans and is able to save Susan and M.J. After the ordeal, Susan and Mike share a brief, yet romantic kiss. Dave is sent to a psychiatric hospital in Boston and two months later, Mike marries an unidentified bride.[105][106][107]

text: Season 6[edit]

text: Susan is identified as Mike's bride in the sixth season premiere.[108][109][110] Her marriage to Mike destroys her friendship with Katherine. After the wedding, Julie is strangled outside of Susan's home.[108] Julie slips into a coma following her attack.[111] While waiting for her to awaken, Susan learns that Julie had dropped out of medical school, was involved with a married man, and had a pregnancy scare before her attack.[111][112] When Julie awakens, she refuses to identify the married man she was seeing.[112] Later in the season, Julie's attacker is revealed to be Eddie Orlofsky (Josh Zuckerman), a local young adult who is also responsible for a handful of murders in Fairview.[40][113] Prior to the attack, Susan had taken Eddie on as an art student and he developed a crush on her. When he discovered that she was remarrying Mike and that she did not see him as a romantic suitor, he attacked Julie, mistaking her for Susan.[40]

text: Katherine continues to pursue Mike, believing that he is still in love with her.[114] Mike warns her to leave his family alone and claims he never truly loved her. After he leaves, Katherine calls 9-1-1 asking for an ambulance, and then stabs herself with a knife with Mike's fingerprints on it.[115] Katherine frames Mike for her wound. Susan, realizing that Katherine has suffered a total nervous breakdown, calls Katherine's daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca), who comes to town and has her mother committed for psychiatric observation.[116] Susan later forgives Katherine once she recovers from her breakdown.[117] Soon after, Mike reveals that he has accumulated an immense debt in the past year.[113][118][119] Unable to balance their debt, Susan and Mike decide to move off Wisteria Lane and rent their house out temporarily.[120] They move into an apartment across town while Paul Young rents their house on Wisteria Lane.[121]

text: Season 7[edit]

text: Susan accepts an offer from her landlady, Maxine Rosen (Lainie Kazan), to appear on a website in which she does housework in her lingerie in order to make ends meet, though she keeps her new job a secret from her friends and family.[122] Soon after, Maxine's site is merged with a larger company that uses Susan's image to advertise the website on billboards across the country. Susan pays the company $9,000 to have the billboards removed.[123] As a result, she begins working for the website's video chatting services to earn back the money. Paul discovers her secret and threatens to expose it unless she sells him her home, in which he now lives with his second wife, Beth (Emily Bergl).[124] Hoping to derail Paul's blackmail scheme, Susan tells Mike about her job on the website. Paul retaliates by spreading the word about Susan's involvement with the website, causing her to lose her teaching job. Strapped for money, Mike accepts a job on an oil rig in Alaska and Susan becomes Lynette's nanny.[125][126]

text: After purchasing a majority of the houses on Wisteria Lane, Paul announces that he plans to open a halfway house for ex-convicts on the street. A protest against his plan escalates into a violent riot and Susan is trampled by the unruly crowd.[127] As a result, Susan loses a kidney and learns that her second kidney is deformed and she is at severe risk of renal failure. Susan reluctantly agrees to undergo dialysis while waiting for a transplant.[128] After Paul throws her out, Beth submits paperwork indicating that in the event of her death, her kidney would be given to Susan, and then commits suicide.[129] Despite initial refusal, Paul allows the operation to move forward and he and Susan reconcile.[130] After discovering that Paul has been depressed following Beth's suicide, Susan begins cooking meals for him with the assistance of Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), Beth's mother and Martha Huber's sister, who secretly adds antifreeze to the food in an effort to kill him.[131] Paul nearly dies as a result of the poisoned food. Unaware that Felicia is helping prepare his meals, Paul has Susan arrested for attempting to kill him.[132] Eventually, Susan is released, Paul confesses to the murder of Martha Huber, and Felicia presumably dies in a car crash while fleeing town.[133] Susan and her family move back onto Wisteria Lane. During a dinner party, Gabrielle's former stepfather, Alejandro (Tony Plana), who raped her during her childhood, attempts to harm Gabrielle until her husband, Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) kills him. Susan, Lynette, and Bree agree to help cover up the crime.[134]

text: Season 8[edit]

text: Susan begins to withdraw from her friends and family out of guilt for having helped cover up Alejandro's death.[135] She bonds with Carlos over their mutual guilt.[136] When Mike begins suspecting Susan and Carlos are having an affair, they agree to tell him the truth about the cover-up.[137] Soon after, Susan begins taking an art class with renowned painter, Andre Zeller (Miguel Ferrer), and discovers that her guilt has given her a renewed artistic ability.[138] In a series of paintings, Susan depicts the scene of Alejandro's death and subsequent burial, arousing the suspicion of Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake), Bree's embittered ex-boyfriend assigned to investigate Alejandro's disappearance.[139] She briefly considers moving to New York to explore new career opportunities, but ultimately decides against it.[140] In an effort to ease her guilt, Susan visits Alejandro's wife and stepdaughter, Claudia (Justina Machado) and Marisa (Daniela Bobadilla), respectively, and write them a check to help their financial misfortune, which only arouses Claudia's suspicions.[141] Claudia confronts Susan and Gabrielle about Alejandro's disappearance, but agrees to stop prying after learning that he had been sexually abusing Marisa.[142]

text: In "Is This What You Call Love?", Susan learns that Julie is six months pregnant and has no relationship with the baby's father. To her dismay, Julie plans to put the child up for adoption.[143] When Susan discovers that Lynette's son, Porter (Max Carver), is the father, she supports his decision to raise the child himself.[144] In "You Take for Granted", Mike is murdered by a vengeful loan shark.[145] The final episodes of the series deal with Susan grieving and eventually moving on from Mike's death.[146][147][148] In the series finale, Julie gives birth to a daughter, whom she now plans on keeping. Susan sells her home on Wisteria Lane and she and M.J. move to help Julie raise the baby.[149]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical[edit]

text: In the first season of Desperate Housewives, the character of Susan was a critics' favorite and generally regarded as the series' most prominent role.[150] Hatcher's portrayal as Susan received praise in the series' first year. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle called Hatcher's performance in the pilot episode "a huge surprise," commenting that she gives "self-effacing, disheveled and sadly hopeless Susan a spirit that makes you root for her".[151] Robert Bianco of USA Today declared that Hatcher delivered "a revelatory performance".[152] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com was less enthusiastic, criticizing Hatcher for overacting.[153] In the series' second season, Susan becomes less important as Bree "comfortably moves into position as the show's lead".[154] Many critics noted that the character suffered as a result of the declining quality of the second season. Bianco wrote that the writers were making Susan "too stupid".[155] Hatcher continued to provide comic relief in the third season.[156][157]

text: By season four, critics thought that Susan's storylines were the least interesting and that she had not "operated at full potential since [her] pivotal role in the debut season".[158] Bianco was more forgiving, stating that while "Susan's silliness sometimes spirals out of control, Teri Hatcher usually manages to keep her likable".[159] As a result of the five-year time jump between seasons four and five, a new direction was taken with Susan's character. The Stat-Legend's Alan Sepinwall calls Susan's character arc in season five the "least annoying storyline she's had in at least three years".[160] However, Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly still felt the character was "ever-annoying".[161] In the series' sixth season, Stransky stated that Susan was still "whiny" and he would have rather seen Mike marry Katherine, though he was not surprised when the mystery bride was revealed to be Susan.[162] Entertainment Weekly named her one of the "21 Most Annoying TV Characters Ever".[163]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Hatcher won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Comedy Series in 2005,[164] beating out fellow cast members Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman. Also that year, Hatcher received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series.[165] In 2005, Hatcher, along with Cross and Huffman, received a nomination for a Satellite Award in the Best Television Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series.[166] She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series,[167] but was beaten out by Huffman.[168] In 2006, Hatcher was once again nominated for the Golden Globe Award in the same category, along with Cross, Huffman, and Eva Longoria. All four Desperate Housewives stars lost to Mary-Louise Parker.[164] Hatcher was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress and a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female TV Star.

text: Controversy[edit]

text:
The producers of 'Desperate Housewives' and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines ... As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs.

Apology issued by ABC on October 3, 2007[169]

text: ABC and the Desperate Housewives producers faced criticism following the September 30, 2007[170] fourth season premiere in which the character of Susan made a controversial remark about Filipino doctors. When her gynecologist suggests that she may be entering menopause, Susan responds "OK, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? Just to make sure they aren't, like, from some med school in the Philippines?"[169] Following its broadcast, viewers demanded an apology from the network.[169] ABC issued an apology on October 3, but the controversy grew to an international concern and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III of Manila publicly sought an apology from the series' producers.[169] Protests against the network and series were staged, prompting ABC to remove the episode from digital and online platforms in order to apply edits.[169] As a result, the line of controversy was removed from all future broadcasts of the episode, as well as from DVD productions. However, protests continued even after this action was taken.[170] The scene with the line in question is still viewable on YouTube.[171]

text: Cultural influences and merchandise[edit]

text: Nicole Parker portrayed Susan in a Desperate Housewives parody on an episode of MADtv. Susan's klutziness is mocked in the skit.[172] Colette Whitaker voices Susan in the Desperate Housewives computer game, which was released in October 2006. In 2007, Madame Alexander released a line of 16-inch fashion dolls of the series' main characters, including Susan.[173]


document_title: Mangrove

question_text: where would the highest density of mangrove forests be found

question_tokens: where would the highest density of mangrove forests be found

root

text: Mangrove

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The term "mangrove" comes to English from Spanish (perhaps by way of Portuguese), and is likely to originate from Guarani. It was earlier "mangrow" (from Portuguese mangue or Spanish mangle), but this word was corrupted via folk etymology influence of the word "grove".

tag: p

text: Ecology[edit]

text: Mangrove swamps are found in tropical and subtropical tidal areas. Areas where mangal occurs include estuaries and marine shorelines.[4]

text: The intertidal existence to which these trees are adapted represents the major limitation to the number of species able to thrive in their habitat. High tide brings in salt water, and when the tide recedes, solar evaporation of the seawater in the soil leads to further increases in salinity. The return of tide can flush out these soils, bringing them back to salinity levels comparable to that of seawater.

text: At low tide, organisms are also exposed to increases in temperature and desiccation, and are then cooled and flooded by the tide. Thus, for a plant to survive in this environment, it must tolerate broad ranges of salinity, temperature, and moisture, as well as a number of other key environmental factors—thus only a select few species make up the mangrove tree community.

text: About 110 species are considered "mangroves", in the sense of being a tree that grows in such a saline swamp,[4] though only a few are from the mangrove plant genus, Rhizophora. However, a given mangrove swamp typically features only a small number of tree species. It is not uncommon for a mangrove forest in the Caribbean to feature only three or four tree species. For comparison, the tropical rainforest biome contains thousands of tree species, but this is not to say mangrove forests lack diversity. Though the trees themselves are few in species, the ecosystem that these trees create provides a home (habitat) for a great variety of other species.

text: Mangrove plants require a number of physiological adaptations to overcome the problems of anoxia, high salinity and frequent tidal inundation. Each species has its own solutions to these problems; this may be the primary reason why, on some shorelines, mangrove tree species show distinct zonation. Small environmental variations within a mangal may lead to greatly differing methods for coping with the environment. Therefore, the mix of species is partly determined by the tolerances of individual species to physical conditions, such as tidal inundation and salinity, but may also be influenced by other factors, such as predation of plant seedlings by crabs.

text: Once established, mangrove roots provide an oyster habitat and slow water flow, thereby enhancing sediment deposition in areas where it is already occurring. The fine, anoxic sediments under mangroves act as sinks for a variety of heavy (trace) metals which colloidal particles in the sediments have scavenged from the water. Mangrove removal disturbs these underlying sediments, often creating problems of trace metal contamination of seawater and biota.

text: Mangrove swamps protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes), and tsunamis.[5][6][7] The mangroves' massive root systems are efficient at dissipating wave energy.[8] Likewise, they slow down tidal water enough so its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs.[9] In this way, mangroves build their own environments.[5] Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against erosion they provide, they are often the object of conservation programs, including national biodiversity action plans.[6]

text: However, mangrove swamps' protective value is sometimes overstated. Wave energy is typically low in areas where mangroves grow,[10] so their effect on erosion can only be measured over long periods.[8] Their capacity to limit high-energy wave erosion is limited to events such as storm surges and tsunamis.[11] Erosion often occurs on the outer sides of bends in river channels that wind through mangroves, while new stands of mangroves are appearing on the inner sides where sediment is accruing.[citation needed]

text: The unique ecosystem found in the intricate mesh of mangrove roots offers a quiet marine region for young organisms.[12] In areas where roots are permanently submerged, the organisms they host include algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoans, which all require a hard surface for anchoring while they filter feed. Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottoms as their home.[13] Mangrove crabs munch on the mangrove leaves, adding nutrients to the mangal muds for other bottom feeders.[14] In at least some cases, export of carbon fixed in mangroves is important in coastal food webs.

text: Mangrove plantations in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and India host several commercially important species of fishes and crustaceans. Despite restoration efforts, developers and others have removed over half of the world's mangroves in recent times.

text: Mangrove forests can decay into peat deposits because of fungal and bacterial processes as well as by the action of termites. It becomes peat in good geochemical, sedimentary and tectonic conditions.[15] The nature of these deposits depends on the environment and the types of mangrove involved. In Puerto Rico the red (Rhizophora mangle), white (Laguncularia racemosa) and black (Avicennia germinans) mangroves occupy different ecological niches and have slightly different chemical compositions so the carbon content varies between the species as well between the different tissues of the plant e.g. leaf matter vs roots.[15]

text: In Puerto Rico there is a clear succession of these three trees from the lower elevations which are dominated by red mangroves to farther inland with a higher concentration of white mangroves.[15] Mangrove forests are an important part of the cycling and storage of carbon in tropical coastal ecosystems.[15] Using this it is possible to attempt to reconstruct the environment and investigate changes to the coastal ecosystem for thousands of years by using sediment cores.[16] However, an additional complication is the imported marine organic matter that also gets deposited in the sediment due to tidal flushing of mangrove forests.[15]

text: In order to understand peat formation by mangroves, it is important to understand the conditions they grew in, and how they decayed. Termites are an important part of this decay, and so an understanding of their action on the organic matter is crucial to the chemical stabilization of mangrove peats.[15]

text: Biology[edit]

text: Of the recognized 110 mangrove species, only about 54 species in 20 genera from 16 families constitute the "true mangroves", species that occur almost exclusively in mangrove habitats.[2] Demonstrating convergent evolution, many of these species found similar solutions to the tropical conditions of variable salinity, tidal range (inundation), anaerobic soils and intense sunlight. Plant biodiversity is generally low in a given mangal.[4] The greatest biodiversity occurs in the mangal of New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia.[17]

text: Adaptations to low oxygen[edit]

text: Red mangroves, which can survive in the most inundated areas, prop themselves above the water level with stilt roots and can then absorb air through pores in their bark (lenticels). Black mangroves live on higher ground and make many pneumatophores (specialised root-like structures which stick up out of the soil like straws for breathing) which are also covered in lenticels.

text: These "breathing tubes" typically reach heights of up to 30 cm, and in some species, over 3 m. The four types of pneumatophores are stilt or prop type, snorkel or peg type, knee type, and ribbon or plank type. Knee and ribbon types may be combined with buttress roots at the base of the tree. The roots also contain wide aerenchyma to facilitate transport within the plants.

text: Limiting salt intake[edit]

text: Red mangroves exclude salt by having significantly impermeable roots which are highly suberised (impregnated with suberin), acting as an ultra-filtration mechanism to exclude sodium salts from the rest of the plant. Analysis of water inside mangroves has shown 90% to 97% of salt has been excluded at the roots. In a frequently cited concept that has become known as the "sacrificial leaf", salt which does accumulate in the shoot (sprout) then concentrates in old leaves, which the plant then sheds. However, recent research suggests the older, yellowing leaves have no more measurable salt content than the other, greener leaves.[18] Red mangroves can also store salt in cell vacuoles. As seen in the photograph on the right, white or grey mangroves can secrete salts directly; they have two salt glands at each leaf base (correlating with their name—they are covered in white salt crystals).

text: Limiting water loss[edit]

text: Because of the limited fresh water available in salty intertidal soils, mangroves limit the amount of water they lose through their leaves. They can restrict the opening of their stomata (pores on the leaf surfaces, which exchange carbon dioxide gas and water vapour during photosynthesis). They also vary the orientation of their leaves to avoid the harsh midday sun and so reduce evaporation from the leaves. Anthony Calfo, a noted aquarium author, observed anecdotally a red mangrove in captivity only grows if its leaves are misted with fresh water several times a week, simulating frequent tropical rainstorms.[19]

text: Nutrient uptake[edit]

text: Because the soil is perpetually waterlogged, little free oxygen is available. Anaerobic bacteria liberate nitrogen gas, soluble ferrum (iron), inorganic phosphates, sulfides and methane, which make the soil much less nutritious.[citation needed] Pneumatophores (aerial roots) allow mangroves to absorb gases directly from the atmosphere, and other nutrients such as iron, from the inhospitable soil. Mangroves store gases directly inside the roots, processing them even when the roots are submerged during high tide.

text: Increasing survival of offspring[edit]

text: In this harsh environment, mangroves have evolved a special mechanism to help their offspring survive. Mangrove seeds are buoyant and are therefore suited to water dispersal. Unlike most plants, whose seeds germinate in soil, many mangroves (e.g. red mangrove) are viviparous, whose seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree. Once germinated, the seedling grows either within the fruit (e.g. Aegialitis, Avicennia and Aegiceras), or out through the fruit (e.g. Rhizophora, Ceriops, Bruguiera and Nypa) to form a propagule (a ready-to-go seedling) which can produce its own food via photosynthesis.

text: The mature propagule then drops into the water, which can transport it great distances. Propagules can survive desiccation and remain dormant for over a year before arriving in a suitable environment. Once a propagule is ready to root, its density changes so the elongated shape now floats vertically rather than horizontally. In this position, it is more likely to lodge in the mud and root. If it does not root, it can alter its density and drift again in search of more favorable conditions.

text: Taxonomy and evolution[edit]

text: The following listing (modified from Tomlinson, 1986) gives the number of species of mangroves in each listed plant genus and family. Mangrove environments in the Eastern Hemisphere harbor six times as many species of trees and shrubs as do mangroves in the New World. Genetic divergence of mangrove lineages from terrestrial relatives, in combination with fossil evidence, suggests mangrove diversity is limited by evolutionary transition into the stressful marine environment, and the number of mangrove lineages has increased steadily over the Tertiary with little global extinction.[20]

text: Major components[edit]

text:
Family
Genus, number of species
Common name

Acanthaceae, Avicenniaceae or Verbenaceae
(family allocation disputed)
Avicennia, 9
Black mangrove

Combretaceae
Conocarpus, 1; Laguncularia, 1; Lumnitzera, 3
Buttonwood, white mangrove

Arecaceae
Nypa, 1
Mangrove palm

Rhizophoraceae
Bruguiera, 7; Ceriops, 5; Kandelia, 2; Rhizophora, 8
Red mangrove

Lythraceae
Sonneratia, 5
Mangrove apple

tag: table

text: Minor components[edit]

text:
Family
Genus, number of species

Acanthaceae
Acanthus, 2; Bravaisia, 2

Arecaceae
Phoenix, 1

Bombacaceae
Camptostemon, 2

Cyperaceae
Fimbristylis, 1

Euphorbiaceae
Excoecaria, 2

Lecythidaceae
Barringtonia, 6

Lythraceae
Pemphis, 2

Meliaceae
Xylocarpus, 2

Myrtaceae
Osbornia, 1

Pellicieraceae
Pelliciera, 1

Plumbaginaceae
Aegialitis, 2

Primulaceae
Aegiceras, 2

Pteridaceae
Acrostichum, 3

Rubiaceae
Scyphiphora, 1

Sterculiaceae
Heritiera, 3

text: Geographical regions[edit]

text: Mangroves can be found in over 118 countries and territories in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The largest percentage of mangroves is found between the 5° N and 5° S latitudes. Approximately 75% of world’s mangroves are found in just 15 countries. Asia has the largest amount (42%) of the world’s mangroves, followed by Africa (21%), North/Central America (15%), Oceania (12%) and South America (11%).[1]

text: Top 20 mangrove habitat nations in 2014[21][edit]

text:
RANK
Country Name
Tree Cover in Mangrove Forests
Tree Cover in Mangrove Biome

km2
km2

1
Indonesia
23,324.29
44,038.77

2
Brazil
7,674.94
17,685.60

3
Malaysia
4,725.84
8,231.09

4
Papua New Guinea
4,172.29
5,677.16

5
Australia
3,316.21
3,251.24

6
Mexico
2,991.83
6,203.92

7
Myanmar
2,557.45
3,856.09

8
Nigeria
2,653.99
6,919.28

9
Venezuela
2,403.83
7,539.12

10
Philippines
2,064.24
2,089.24

11
Thailand
1,886.33
4,196.97

12
Bangladesh
1,772.98
2,314.56

13
Colombia
1,671.86
6,274.70

14
Cuba
1,633.46
2,454.10

15
United States
1,568.60
1,585.06

16
Panama
1,323.94
2,708.21

17
Mozambique
1,223.67
2,677.27

18
Cameroon
1,112.76
1,332.16

19
Gabon
1,082.11
3,882.95

20
Ecuador
935.74
1,945.27

text: Africa[edit]

text: There are important mangrove swamps in Kenya, Tanzania, République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) and Madagascar, with the latter even admixing at the coastal verge with dry deciduous forests.

text: Nigeria has Africa's largest mangrove concentration, spanning 36,000 km2. Oil spills and leaks have destroyed many in the last 50 years, damaging the local fishing economy and water quality.[23]

text: Along the coast of the Red Sea, both on the Egyptian side and in the Gulf of Aqaba, mangroves composed primarily of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata[24] grow in about 28 stands that cover about 525 hectares.[citation needed] Almost all Egyptian mangrove stands are now protected.[citation needed]

text: There are mangroves off the east coast of South Africa extending as far south as the Tylomnqa River (33°13'26.1"S 27°34'50.2"E). Some mangrove stands exist in the St Lucia estuary within iSimangaliso Wetland Park.[citation needed]

text: Americas[edit]

text: Mangroves live in many parts of the tropical and subtropical coastal zones of North and South America.

text: Continental United States[edit]

text: Because of their sensitivity to subfreezing temperatures, mangroves in the continental United States are very limited to the Florida peninsula (see Florida mangroves) and some isolated growths[25] of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) at the southmost coast of Louisiana[26] and South Texas.[27]

text: Mexico[edit]

text: In Mexico four species of mangrove predominate: Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia germinans and Conocarpus erectus.[28] During an inventory conducted by CONABIO between 2006 and 2008, 770,057 hectares of mangrove were counted.[29] Of this total, 55% are located in the Yucatán Peninsula.[29]

text: Significant mangals include the Marismas Nacionales-San Blas mangroves found in Sinaloa and Nayarit.

text: Central America and Caribbean[edit]

text: Mangroves occur on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Mangroves can also be found in many of the Antilles including Puerto Rico,[30] Cuba, and Hispaniola,[31] as well as other islands in the West Indies such as the Bahamas.

text: Belize[edit]

text: The nation of Belize has the highest overall percentage of forest cover of any of the Central American countries.[32] In terms of Belize's mangrove cover—which assumes the form not only of mangrove 'forest', but also of scrubs and savannas, among others[33]—a 2010 satellite-based study of Belize's mangroves by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean found, in 2010, mangroves covered some 184,548 acres (74,684 hectares) or 3.4% of Belize's territory.[34]

text: In 1980, by contrast, mangrove cover stood at 188,417 acres (76,250 hectares)—also 3.4% of Belize's territory, although based on the work of mangrove researcher Simon Zisman,[35] Belize's mangrove cover in 1980 was estimated to represent 98.7% of the precolonial extent of those ecosystems. Belize's mangrove cover in 2010 was thus estimated to represent 96.7% of the precolonial cover.[34] Assessing changes in Belize's mangrove cover over a 30-year period was possible because of Belize's participation in the Regional Visualization and Monitoring System, a regional observatory jointly implemented by CATHALAC, RCMRD, ICIMOD, NASA, USAID, and other partners.[36]

text: South America[edit]

text: Brazil contains approximately 26,000 km2 of mangals, 15% of the world's total.

text: Ecuador has substantial remaining mangrove forests in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, Manabi and Esmeraldas with limited forest remaining in Santa Elena.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257138926_The_Impact_of_Shrimp_Farming_on_Mangrove_Ecosystems_and_Local_Livelihoods_along_the_Pacific_Coast_of_Ecuador[37] The northern portion of Esmeraldas province has a large pristine mangrove forest that is preserved as the Reserva Ecológica Cayapas-Mataje (REMACAN) and is an original Ramsar site.[38] This forest is the most preserved within Ecuador and likely the most pristine forest along the Pacific Coast of the Americas.[39]

text: The only other major mangrove holding in Esmeraldas is in-and-around the community of Muisne and the Rio Muisne Estuary Swampland Wildlife Refuges.[41] The mangroves in-and-around the estuaries of Muisne have decreased in area from 3222 ha in 1971 to 1065 ha as of 2005, during this time commercial shrimp aquaculture has become the dominant land-cover within this estuary environment.[42]

text: On the border of Esmeraldas province and Manabí province is a formerly large area of mangrove within Cojimies Estuary. The mangroves in this estuary are some of the most degraded in Ecuador with only 19% of 1971 mangrove area remaining as of 1998, although mangrove has recovered since this date.[39] Within Manabí the major mangrove holding estuary is the Chone estuary situated near the city of Bahía de Caráquez. Again, Chone has undergone substantial mangrove deforestation since the advent of commercial aquaculture in Ecuador.[42] Although mangrove loss appears to have halted in this estuary and mangrove regrowth driven by local fisherman is now occurring.[43]

text: Peru has a very small region of mangrove located in the north-west of the country on the Ecuadorian Border.[44]

text: Venezuela's northern Caribbean island, Margarita, possesses mangrove forests in the Parque nacional Laguna de La Restinga. Venezuela has 4% of the world's mangroves, with an extension of 6735 km2.[45]

text: Colombia possesses large mangrove forests on both its Caribbean and Pacific coasts.

text: The Mangrove forests of Suriname have a height of 20–25 m and are found mainly in the coastal area. There are six types of mangroves, namely two types of parwa or black mangroves, three types of red mangroves (mangro) and a small mangrove species (white mangrove, akira or tjila).[46]

text: Asia[edit]

text: Sundarban Mangroves (India & Bangladesh)[edit]

text: The Great Sundarbans, the largest mangroves region in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world, covering parts of Bangladesh's Khulna Division and the Indian state of West Bengal.

text: In the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, Sundari trees are found, which provide durable hard timber. Palm, Coconut, keora, agar, also grow in some parts of the delta. India's mangrove forests are known to serve as a habitat for turtles, crocodiles, gharials, and snakes. This region is part of the Great Sundarbans and covers a National Park, Tiger reserve and a Biosphere Reserve.[47][48]

text: The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve. It is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger.

text: A third of this area is covered by water and marshes. Since 1966 it has been considered a sanctuary for wildlife with an estimated 400 Royal Bengal tigers and more than 30,000 deer.

text: The forest lies at the foot of the Ganges The seasonally-flooded Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests. The forest covers 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of which about 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) are in Bangladesh. It was inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotope, they are separately listed in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. Sundarbans was designated a Ramsar site on May 21, 1992. The fertile soils of the delta have been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the ecoregion has been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest remaining. The remaining forests, together with the Sundarbans mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger. Additionally, the Sundarbans serves a crucial function as a protective flood barrier for the millions of inhabitants in and around Kolkata (Calcutta) against the result of cyclone activity. Sundarbans is home to many different species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and fish. It is estimated that there may be found more than 120 species of fish and over 260 species of birds and more than fifty species of reptiles and eight amphibians. Many tourists go there to see the Bengal tigers, saltwater crocodiles, leopards and snakes cobra. Geographical data of Sundarban Latitude: 25.7667 Longitude: 88.7167 Average Height: 34 Time Zone: Asia / Dhaka Title: Lugar Poblado

text: India[edit]

text: The deltas of the Ganges, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari, and Kaveri rivers are known to contain mangrove forests.

text: The following table shows the presence of mangroves in the different states of India and the total area covered by them in square kilometres.[49]

text:
Rank
States/UTs with Highest Mangrove Cover 2013
Total Mangrove Cover in km2

1
West Bengal
2,097

2
Gujarat
1,103

3
Andaman And Nicobar Islands
604

4
Andhra Pradesh
352

5
Odisha
213

6
Maharashtra
186

7
Tamil Nadu
39

8
Goa
22

9
Kerala
6

10
Karnataka
3

text: Bhitarkanika Mangroves[edit]

text: Bhitarkanika Mangroves is India’s second largest forest, located in the state of Odisha. Bhitarkanika is created by the two river deltas of Brahmani and Baitarani river and one of the important Ramsar Wetland in India. It is also home of salt-water crocodiles and nesting beach olive ridley sea turtle.[47][48]

text: Godavari-Krishna Mangroves[edit]

text: The Godavari-Krishna mangroves lies in the delta of the Godavari and Krishna rivers in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Mangroves ecoregion is under protection for Calimere Wildlife and Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary.[48]

text: Pichavaram Mangroves[edit]

text: Pichavaram mangrove is the world's second largest mangrove forest, situated at Pichavaram near Chidambaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. Pichavaram ranks amongs one of the most exquisite scenic spots in Tamil Nadu and home of many species of aquatic birds.[48]

text: Baratang Island Mangroves[edit]

text: Baratang Island Mangroves is a swamp, located at Great Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Mangrove Swamps of Baratang Island are situated between Middle and South Andamans, capital city Port Blair.[48]

text: Indo-Malaya Ecozone[edit]

text: Mangroves occur on Asia's south coast, throughout the Indian subcontinent, in all Southeast Asian countries, and on islands in the Indian Ocean, Persian gulf, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, South China Sea, East China Sea and the Pacific.

text: The mangal is particularly prevalent in the deltas of large Asian rivers. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, located in the Ganges River delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.

text: The Pichavaram mangroves in Tamil Nadu is India's one of the largest mangrove forests. The Bhitarkanika Mangroves Forest of Odisha, by the Bay of Bengal, is India's second largest mangrove forest.[citation needed] Other major mangals occur on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.[50]

text: Mangroves occur in certain muddy swampy islands of the Maldives.[51]

text: On the Malayan Peninsula mangroves cover an estimated 1,089.7 square kilometres (420.7 sq mi), while most of the remaining 5,320 square kilometres (2,054 sq mi) mangroves in Malaysia are on the island of Borneo.[52]

text: In Vietnam, mangrove forests grow along the southern coast, including two forests: the Can Gio Mangrove Forest biosphere reserve and the U Minh mangrove forest in the sea and coastal region of Kiên Giang, Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu provinces.

text: The mangrove forests of Kompong Sammaki in Cambodia are of major ecological and cultural importance, as the human population relies heavily on the crabs and fish that live in the roots.

text: The three most important mangrove forests of Taiwan are: Tamsui River in Taipei, Jhonggang River in Miaoli and the Sihcao Wetlands in Tainan. According to research, four types of mangrove exist in Taiwan.[citation needed] Some places have been developed as scenic areas, such as the log raft routes in Sihcao.

text: The most extensive mangrove forests of the Ryukyu Islands in East China Sea occur on Iriomote Island of the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa, Japan.[53] Seven types of mangroves are recognised on Iriomote Island.[54]

text: The northern limit of mangrove forests in the Indo-Malaya ecozone is considered to be Tanegashima Island, Kyushu, Japan.[55]

text: Indonesia[edit]

text: In the Indonesian Archipelago, mangroves occur around much of Papua province, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Maluku and the surrounding islands. Further north, they are found along the coast of the Malay Peninsula. Indonesia has around 9.36 million hectares of mangrove forests, but 48% is categorized as 'moderately damaged' and 23% as 'badly damaged'.[56]

text: Mangroves around the world[edit]

text:
Mangrove Park in Kannur, India

Sihcao, Tainan, Taiwan

Yap, Micronesia

Pichavaram, India

Iriomote Island, Japan

tag: ul

text: Pakistan[edit]

text: Pakistani mangroves are located mainly along the delta of the Indus River (the Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves ecoregion). Major mangrove forests are found on the coastline of the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

text: In Karachi, land reclamation projects have led to the cutting down of mangrove forests for commercial and urban development. On 22 June 2013, Sindh Forest Department, Govt. of Sindh, Pakistan, with the help of 300 local coastal volunteer planters set the Guinness World Record by planting 847,250 mangrove saplings at Kharo Chan, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan in a little over 12 hours. This is the highest number of saplings planted within a day under the Guinness World Record category of "Maximum Number of Trees Planted in a Day".

text: Sindh Forest Department, Government of Sindh Mangrove has played pioneer role for the conservation and protection of the mangroves in the Indus Delta since late 1950s when it was handed over the areas. A breakthrough success is the re-introduction of Rhizophora mucronata into the Indus Delta, which had become extinct there. More recently, a threatened mangrove shrub, Ceriops tagal, has also been successfully re-introduced. A third species, Aegiceras corniculatum, is under trials at the nursery stage.

text: A gigantic initiative is under in the Sindh, Pakistan, to rehabilitate the degraded and blank mangrove mudflats. Since 2010 alone, around 55,000 Hectares of such area has been planted and rehabilitated. During this period, through concerted efforts and a rigorous conservation policy adopted by the Sindh Forest Department, Govt. of Sindh and the federal govt. a mangrove resource base of 150,000 plus Hectares has been created, with the support of local coastal communities. International organizations like IUCN and WWF are also playing critical role to support this initiative of the government. Other achievements include: (1) Declaring all the mangrove forests in the Indus Delta as Protected Forests in December 2010; Constitution of a Mangrove Conservation Committee at the provincial level which includes all stakeholders as members and overall awareness of the importance of mangroves and its ecosystem.[57]

text:
Shah Bundar, Sujawal, Pakistan, new mangrove plantation

A young mangrove plantation in the Indus Delta

Flourishing mangroves along Karachi coast, Pakistan

Glowing mangrove plantation at Keti Bundar, Thatta, Pakistan

text: Middle East[edit]

text: Oman, near Muscat, supports large areas of mangroves, in particular at Shinas, Qurm Park and Mahout Island. In Arabic, mangrove trees are known as qurm, thus the mangrove area in Oman is known as Qurm Park. A small mangrove area is present in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Mangroves are also present extensively in neighbouring Yemen.[58]

text: Iranian mangrove forests occur between 25°11′N to 27°52′N. These forests exist in the north part of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, along three maritime provinces in the south of Iran. These provinces, respectively, from southwest to southeast of Iran, include Bushehr, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Balouchestan.

text: Mangrove is also widely seen in Tarut Island, east of Qatif in Saudi Arabia. In addition, large forest of mangrove surround the coast to the south of Qatif (Siahat Beach). Nonetheless, because of sea land re-claiming the mangrove is being cut down which makes lots of sea fish losses their natural habitats.

text: The mangrove forests that cover thousands of hectares of land along the UAE shoreline form an integral part of its coastal ecosystem. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is currently working on rehabilitation, conservation and protection of mangrove forests in seven key sites in Abu Dhabi including: Saadiyat Island, Jubail Island, Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve (which also comprises famous Bu Tinah Island), Bu Syayeef Protected Area, Ras Gharab, the Eastern Corniche and Ras Ghanada.

text: Oceania[edit]

text: Australia and New Guinea[edit]

text: More than 5 species of Rhizophoraceae grow in Australasia[59] with particularly high biodiversity on the island of New Guinea and northern Australia.[59]

text: Australia has about 11,500 km2 of mangroves, primarily on the northern and eastern coasts of the continent, with occurrences as far south as Millers Landing in Wilsons Promontory, Victoria[60] (38°54′S),[61] Barker Inlet in Adelaide, South Australia[62] and Koombana Park in Bunbury, Western Australia.[63]

text: New Zealand[edit]

text: New Zealand also has mangrove forests extending to around 38°S (similar to Australia's southernmost mangrove incidence): the furthest geographical extent on the west coast is Raglan Harbour (37°48′S); on the east coast, Ohiwa Harbour (near Opotiki) is the furthest south mangroves are found (38°00′S).

text: Pacific islands[edit]

text: Twenty-five species of mangrove are found on various Pacific islands, with extensive mangals on some islands. Mangals on Guam, Palau, Kosrae and Yap have been badly affected by development.[64]

text: Mangroves are not native to Hawaii, but the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, and Oriental mangrove, Bruguiera sexangula, have been introduced and are now naturalized.[65] Both species are considered invasive species and classified as pests by the University of Hawaii Botany Department.[66]

text: Exploitation and conservation[edit]

text: Adequate data are only available for about half of the global area of mangroves. However, of those areas for which data has been collected, it appears that 35% of the mangroves have been destroyed.[67] The United Nations Environment Program & Hamilton (2013), estimate that shrimp farming causes approximately a quarter of the destruction of mangrove forests.[68][69] Likewise, the 2010 update of the World Mangrove Atlas indicated that approximately one fifth of the world's mangrove ecosystems have been lost since 1980,[70] although this rapid loss rate appears to have decreased since 2000 with global losses estimated at between 0.16% and 0.39% annually between 2000 and 2012.[21] Despite global loss rates decreasing since 2000, Southeast Asia remains an area of concern with loss rates between 3.58% and 8.08% between 2000 and 2012.[21]

text: Grassroots efforts to save mangroves from development are becoming more popular as their benefits become more widely known. In the Bahamas, for example, active efforts to save mangroves are occurring on the islands of Bimini and Great Guana Cay. In Trinidad and Tobago as well, efforts are underway to protect a mangrove threatened by the construction of a steelmill and a port.[citation needed] In Thailand, community management has been effective in restoring damaged mangroves.[71] Within northern Ecuador mangrove regrowth is reported in almost all estuaries and stems primarily from local actors responding to earlier periods of deforestation in the Esmeraldas region.[43]

text: Mangroves have been reported to be able to help buffer against tsunami, cyclones, and other storms. One village in Tamil Nadu was protected from tsunami destruction—the villagers in Naluvedapathy planted 80,244 saplings to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. This created a kilometre-wide belt of trees of various varieties. When the tsunami struck, much of the land around the village was flooded, but the village itself suffered minimal damage.[72]

text: Reforestation[edit]

text: In some areas, mangrove reforestation and mangrove restoration is also underway. Red mangroves are the most common choice for cultivation, used particularly in marine aquariums in a sump to reduce nitrates and other nutrients in the water. Mangroves also appear in home aquariums, and as ornamental plants, such as in Japan.

text: In Senegal, Haïdar El Ali has started the fr project, which (amongst others) focuses on reforesting several areas with mangroves.[73]

text: The Manzanar Mangrove Initiative is an ongoing experiment in Arkiko, Eritrea, part of the Manzanar Project founded by Gordon H. Sato, establishing new mangrove plantations on the coastal mudflats. Initial plantings failed, but observation of the areas where mangroves did survive by themselves led to the conclusion that nutrients in water flow from inland were important to the health of the mangroves. Trials with the Eritrean Ministry of Fisheries followed, and a planting system was designed to provide the nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron missing from seawater.[74][75]

text: The propagules are planted inside a reused galvanized steel can with the bottom knocked out; a small piece of iron and a pierced plastic bag with fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus are buried with the propagule. As of 2007[update], after six years of planting, 700,000 mangroves are growing; providing stock feed for sheep and habitat for oysters, crabs, other bivalves, and fish.[74][75]

text: National studies[edit]

text: In terms of local and national studies of mangrove loss, the case of Belize's mangroves is illustrative in its contrast to the global picture. A recent, satellite-based study[34]—funded by the World Wildlife Fund and conducted by the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC)—indicates Belize's mangrove cover declined by a mere 2% over a 30-year period. The study was born out of the need to verify the popular conception that mangrove clearing in Belize was rampant.[76]

text: Instead, the assessment showed, between 1980 and 2010, under 4,000 acres (16 km2) of mangroves had been cleared, although clearing of mangroves near Belize's main coastal settlements (e.g. Belize City and San Pedro) was relatively high. The rate of loss of Belize's mangroves—at 0.07% per year between 1980 and 2010—was much lower than Belize's overall rate of forest clearing (0.6% per year in the same period).[77] These findings can also be interpreted to indicate Belize's mangrove regulations (under the nation's)[78] have largely been effective. Nevertheless, the need to protect Belize's mangroves is imperative, as a 2009 study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) indicates the ecosystems contribute US$174–249 million per year to Belize's national economy.[79]