Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs
that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and
subtropics – mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S.
The saline conditions tolerated by various species range from
brackish water, through pure seawater (30 to 40 ppt), to water
concentrated by evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean
seawater (up to 90 ppt).
There are many species of trees and shrubs adapted to saline
conditions. Not all are closely related, and the term "mangrove" may
be used for all of them, or more narrowly only for the mangrove
family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifically just
for mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora.
Mangroves form a characteristic saline woodland or scrubland
habitat, called mangrove swamp, mangrove forest, mangrove or mangal.
Mangals are found in depositional coastal environments, where fine
sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas
protected from high-energy wave action. Mangroves dominate three
quarters of tropical coastlines |
