Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that grow in tropical and subtropical coastal areas around the world. They often form vast impermeable thickets and serve as a buffer between marine and terrestrial environments. Mangroves have been cleared in many places to develop beach resorts and coastal communities, and their populations are in decline worldwide. However, these tangled trees are much more than just ocean-view obstructions, and their preservation is vital to the health and even the safety of the shorelines they inhabit.
Physically, mangroves trap sediments with their many roots, helping to reduce erosion and improve water quality. They also protect shorelines from damaging winds, waves, and floods and can reduce the impact of storms. Studies have shown that coastal communities that have preserved their mangroves fare significantly better during a hurricane than those that have cut down their buffering trees. The differences were not just economic—by simply leaving the trees in place, some mangrove-protected areas even had fewer people die from storm impacts.
Mangroves are extremely important ecologically. They provide a habitat for a diverse array of terrestrial organisms and are the nesting sites for many species of birds. Their protective roots are a perfect nursery for coastal and offshore fish, and local fisheries would likely collapse without these safe hatchery sites. Many shellfish rely exclusively on mangroves as their breeding, spawning, and hatching grounds. Because of their high salt tolerance, mangroves are often among the first species to colonize mud and sandbanks flooded by seawater, thus allowing disturbed areas to once again support a variety of life.
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