| The mangrove ecosystem |
The word "Mangrove" is considered to be a combination of the Portuguese word "Mangue" and the English word "grove". Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. The specific regions where these plants occur are termed as 'mangrove ecosystem'. These are highly productive but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.
Anthropological pressures and natural calamities are the enemies of the ecosystem. Growing industrial areas along the coastlines and discharge of domestic and industrial sewage are polluting these areas. Many studies have highlighted these problems and the conservation efforts are being considered.
Experiences have proved that the presence of mangrove ecosystems on coastline save lives and property during natural hazards such as cyclones, storm surges and erosion. These ecosystems are also well known for their economic importance. They are breeding, feeding and nursery grounds for many estuarine and marine organisms. Hence, these areas are used for captive and culture fisheries. The ecosystem has a very large unexplored potential for natural products useful for medicinal purposes and also for salt production, apiculture, fuel and fodder, etc.
The distribution of mangrove ecosystem on Indian coastlines indicates that the Sundarban mangroves occupy very large area followed by Andaman-Nicobar Islands and Gulf of Kachchh in Gujarat. Rest of the mangrove ecosystems are comparatively smaller. However, good number of studies have been carried out in almost all ecosystems. Over 1600 plant and 3700 animal species have been identified from these areas. MANDATE is a database on Indian mangroves analysing information from available literature using the specific parameters as have been depicted on left hand side. Please do use this information freely and also provide any other information that has not been covered here.
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