Mangroves fundamentals

Mangroves are sets of trees or shrubs that grow in tropical coastal swamps which are flooded at rainy seasons or high tides. They usually have tangled roots above the ground forming dense thickets. Mangroves provide numerous ecosystem services: – Nutrient cycling – Fishery support – Flood control – Water quality – Coastline stabilization – Carbon sequestration

It is important to monitor mangrove biomass and their carbon stocks in order to evaluate the local ecosystem health and condition, for example intact versus degraded biotics. However mangroves are threatened by diferent factors such as land-Use change, climate change and sea level rise, water-related vegetation degradation, invasive encroachment, oil exploration activities.