Diniev M., Charyev M.
KNOWING AND LEARNING MANGROVE PLANTS *
Аннотация:
a mangrove is a woody tree or shrub that lives along sheltered coastlines within the tropic or subtropic latitudes. In fact, the various species of mangroves aren’t necessarily closely related to one another, but they do share the unique capability of growing within reach of the tides in salty soil. Some mangrove species live so close to the shoreline that they are flooded with salt water every day as the tide comes in and submerges their roots. All mangroves have evolved special adaptations that enable them to live in salty, oxygen-poor soil.
Ключевые слова:
plants, nature, agriculture.
Under the strictest guidelines, there are roughly 54 true species of mangrove belonging to 16 different families. However, because distinguishing a mangrove species is based upon physical and ecological traits rather than family lineage, scientists often differ in what they consider to be a true mangrove. Some species like Conocarpus erectus, the buttonwood, are often grouped with mangroves since they hug the upper edge of mangrove forests, however, they lack many of the characteristic adaptations of mangroves and are labeled “mangrove associates.” When all plants that live in a mangrove environment are accounted for, there are well over 80 mangrove species.Mangrove can also be used as a term that refers to an entire community. The tree and shrub foliage create a rich habitat for other plants and animals to call home, and the branching root system underwater creates a safe haven for many fish, especially easily preyed upon young. Scientists will refer to this as the mangal, but mangrove or mangrove forest works just the same.Mangroves grow in sheltered tropical and subtropical coastal areas across the globe. In general, this is an area between latitudes of 25 degrees north and 25 degrees south, however, geographical limits are highly variable depending upon the area of the world and local climates. In Eastern Australia, the mangrove Avicennia marina can grow as far south as 38 degrees and Avicennia germinans can grow as far north as 32 degrees in the Atlantic. A major restriction for where mangroves can live is temperature. The cooler temperatures of northern temperate regions prove too much for the mangroves. A fluctuation of ten degrees in a short period of time is enough stress to damage the plant and freezing temperatures for even a few hours can kill some mangrove species. However, rising temperatures and sea level due to climate change are allowing mangroves to expand their ranges farther away from the equator and encroach on temperate wetlands, like salt marshes. Also, on some isolated tropical islands, such as Hawaii and Tahiti, mangroves are not native and are sometimes considered invasive species.The salty soils of the intertidal pose an inhospitable barrier for most woody plants, but the mangrove is uniquely adapted for these conditions. These adaptations are so successful that some mangroves are able to grow in soils that reach salinities up to 75 parts per thousand (ppt), about two times the salinity of ocean water. However, most mangroves do better in ranges between 3 and 27 ppt. To differentiate species that use different methods for dealing with salt, scientists categorize mangroves as either secretors—those that actively rid their tissue of salt—and non-secretors—those that block the salt from entering their tissue.In species from the genera Rhizophora (the red mangrove) and Bruguiera, the plants create a barrier and can almost completely exclude the salt from entering their vascular system—over 90 percent of the salt from seawater is excluded. This barrier acts against osmosis, a process where water moves from areas low in salt concentration to areas high in salt concentration. If the mangrove didn’t have such a barrier, the salty ocean water would suck the mangrove dry. Fortunately, one method for mangrove restoration proves to be more successful than other attempts. In 1986, Robin Lewis began a restoration experiment in Florida that changed mangrove restoration success. Based upon findings that seedlings do best when they are submerged for 30 percent of the time and dry for the remaining 70, Lewis and a team of engineers modified the coastal landscape by moving piles of dirt with bulldozers and backhoes away from the experiment site. Then, they constructed a slight slope leading down into the ocean so that tides could easily flow. After 7 years, all three of Florida’s mangrove species naturally re-established. Since then, Lewis’s ecological restoration methods have been used to restore 30 mangrove sites in the United States, along with mangroves in another 25 countries around the world. In Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries, local communities dependent on mangroves have learned his methods, too.
Номер журнала Вестник науки №11 (68) том 1
Ссылка для цитирования:
Diniev M., Charyev M. KNOWING AND LEARNING MANGROVE PLANTS // Вестник науки №11 (68) том 1. С. 1055 - 1057. 2023 г. ISSN 2712-8849 // Электронный ресурс: https://www.вестник-науки.рф/article/10733 (дата обращения: 17.05.2024 г.)
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