Mangrove Forests

Effects of “deforestation” on the carbon sink of the Mangrove forest
Introduction and Literature Review
Mangroves are an important part of the coastal ecosystem. This paper focuses on the “Mangrove forests” and the effect of deforestation for converting the land into agricultural land on the carbon sink of the mangrove forests.
The Mangrove forests represent only a small percentage of the total forest ecosystem on earth, yet they make up the largest existing carbon sinks on the planet. Due to the steady expansion in the agricultural land and the ensuing deforestation, the diminishing effect of the mangrove forests has had negative impact on the climate by reducing the carbon absorption cycle from the atmosphere (J. Boone Kauffman, Daniel C. Donato, 2012).
Observation of the mangroves have been largely limited to the areas which experience high tides or high tidal zones. There is a wide variation in the structure of the mangroves due to their topography, hydrology, latitude, and substrate (J. Boone Kauffman, Daniel C. Donato, 2012).
The mangrove forests are found in the environments which consist of brackish wetland or saline wetlands. These wetlands are found to consist of the anoxic sediments which are highly reduced form of sediments (J. Boone Kauffman, Daniel C. Donato, 2012). Additionally, these sediments are vulnerable to the tropical cyclones which can be severe in nature.
Interesting fact about the mangrove forests is that many species dwelling in this environment possess unique adaptive features which help them to ensure its own survivability (A.K. Sweetman, A.M. Berle, et al., 2010).
One such unique feature include pneumatophores in some flora species and stilt roots. These features allow the species to process the ...

... middle of paper ...

...a will be higher than the area which have not been deforested.
➢ The structure and density of the species of the deforested mangrove area will be different or lower than the area which have not been deforested.
➢ The tidal range and other physical factor of the deforested mangrove area will be different than the area which have not been deforested.
The result of this research will help the responsible government and the environmentalists to affirm that, deforestation of the mangrove is doing more harm to the community than the benefit they think they are harvesting from conversion of the land, logging, and other activities which leads to deforestation.
Additionally the environmentalists and researchers working in this field can come up with flora which can suitably grow in the climate of the deforested mangrove areas and work towards the aforestation of the area.