Mangrove Conservation Essay

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Mangroves species prospers in coastal intertidal environments throughout the tropics. It is renowned for its enormous economic and ecological services (Walters, 2003). For instance, mangroves can absorb five times more carbon dioxide than upland tropical forest (Siikamaki et.al, 2012). These trees also offer shelter for organisms occupying the land-sea interface (Ellison 2008). This includes a wide array of fisheries such as seaweeds, fish, crabs, prawns, mollusks and other invertebrates. It also provides forestry products (timber, firewood, tanbark for dyes, fibers and ropes, corks,.) This demonstrates its significance on the economy (Primavera, 2008). This means that directly or indirectly, human beings depend on mangroves for seafood production (Rönnbäck, 1999). In addition, renewed interest in mangrove conservation gained attention because of the protection offered by mangrove…show more content…
(Roldan, 2014). Planting mangrove species in impertinent sites is one reason. For instance, most natural colonizers in rehabilitation sites are Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba (Primavera et al.,2004; Roldan,2004; REECS 2006) but the seeds of these mangroves require labor-intensive nursery period. In contrast, Rhizophora species have larger propagules and are convenient to collect and plant (Samson and Rollon, 2008). Therefore, it is preferable by those initiating the conservation project. However, this is, as stated by Primavera (2008) "Planting by convenience, not of ecology". Hence, there is a need to identify the ideal habitat for each species before planting. An extensive source of literature is available that provides information on the habit and ecology of each mangrove species. However, the question that has to be answered is. “Where in geographical space is the ideal habitat located? The vastness of its extent and the amount of data makes this question difficult to

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