What lives in mangroves? Branches provide spaces for birds like the little pied cormorant or the white faced heron. Mangroves are great places to go bird watching.
Leaves provide shelter and shade for the birds that shelter in the canopy. After the leaves fall off the tree they are broken down by bacteria and fungi.
Forests support many important fish species including mullet, bream, whiting, luderick, flathead, flounder and shellfish such as crabs and prawns.
First day
Six months
Bacteria, algae, fungi
Roots sustain many land and marine animals and plants. These include algae, crabs, snails and fish.
How do mangroves protect the coast?
Sediment accretion as the waves and currents slow down, sediment is trapped by mangrove forests. This increases the height of the land and decreases flooding.
Wave attenuation the presence of trees and roots decreases wave energy, reducing the height as it approaches the shore. Sediment stabilisation the roots of the mangroves hold the sediment in place, reducing erosion. Adaptation Mangroves may be able to move with sea level rise, unlike artificial defences that need to be rebuilt
What is blue carbon? Carbon Uptake / Photosynthesis
Carbon Release
Carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is taken up by trees and plants during the process of photosynthesis. The carbon (C) is used by plants to form their leaves, branches, stem, trunks and roots. C C C C
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Blue carbon: Carbon Storage / Sequestration Dead leaves, branches, bark & roots containing carbon get buried in the sediment frequently inundated by salt water.
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Disturbance that exposes buried carbon to the atmosphere (excavation, dredging, cyclones, tsunami etc.) leads to accelerated release of the stored carbon back to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.
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The oxygen-poor, water saturated sediment slows the break down and decomposition of plant material.
C C C The carbon buried in the plant material can remain stored (sequestration) in the sediment for decades to centuries, resulting in significant carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere therefore mitigating climate change.
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