Mangroves are important for:
Shoreline Protection
Mangroves protect shorelines from damaging storm and hurricane winds, waves, and floods.
Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems.
They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating
from land.
Nursery
Serving as valuable nursery areas for shrimp, crustaceans, mollusks, and fishes, mangroves
are a critical component of Florida's commercial and recreational fishing industries. These
habitats provide a rich source of food while also offering refuge from predation. Snook
(Centropomus undecimalis), gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), tarpon (Megalops atlanticus),
jack (Caranx spp.), sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), and red drum (Sciaenops
ocellatus) all feed in the mangroves. Florida's fisheries would suffer a dramatic decline without
access to healthy mangrove habitats.
Threatened and Endangered Species
In addition to commercially important species, mangroves also support a number of threatened
and endangered species.
Threatened species include:
· American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
· green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
· loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
Endangered species include:
· American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
· hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
· Atlantic ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
· eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais)
· Atlantic saltmarsh snake (Nerodia clarkii taeniata)
· southern bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus)
· peregrine falcon (Falco columbarius)
· brown pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis)
· Barbados yellow warbler ( Dendroica petechia petechia)
· key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium)
· West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)
These species utilize mangrove systems during at least some portion of their life histories,
while others reside their entire life spans, feeding and nesting within the mangroves.
Renewable Resource
In other parts of the world, people have utilized mangrove trees as a renewable resource.
Harvested for durable, water-resistant wood, mangroves have been used in building houses,
boats, pilings, and furniture. The wood of the black mangrove and buttonwood trees has also
been utilized in the production of charcoal. Tannins and other dyes are extracted from mangrove
bark. Leaves have been used in tea, medicine, livestock feed, and as a substitute for tobacco for
smoking. In Florida, beekeepers have set up their hives close to mangroves in order to use the
nectar in honey production.
- Shoreline Protection
- Nursery
- Threatened and Endangered Species
- Renewable Resource
Shoreline Protection
Mangroves protect shorelines from damaging storm and hurricane winds, waves, and floods.
Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems.
They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating
from land.
Nursery
Serving as valuable nursery areas for shrimp, crustaceans, mollusks, and fishes, mangroves
are a critical component of Florida's commercial and recreational fishing industries. These
habitats provide a rich source of food while also offering refuge from predation. Snook
(Centropomus undecimalis), gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), tarpon (Megalops atlanticus),
jack (Caranx spp.), sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), and red drum (Sciaenops
ocellatus) all feed in the mangroves. Florida's fisheries would suffer a dramatic decline without
access to healthy mangrove habitats.
Threatened and Endangered Species
In addition to commercially important species, mangroves also support a number of threatened
and endangered species.
Threatened species include:
· American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
· green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
· loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
Endangered species include:
· American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
· hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
· Atlantic ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
· eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais)
· Atlantic saltmarsh snake (Nerodia clarkii taeniata)
· southern bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus)
· peregrine falcon (Falco columbarius)
· brown pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis)
· Barbados yellow warbler ( Dendroica petechia petechia)
· key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium)
· West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)
These species utilize mangrove systems during at least some portion of their life histories,
while others reside their entire life spans, feeding and nesting within the mangroves.
Renewable Resource
In other parts of the world, people have utilized mangrove trees as a renewable resource.
Harvested for durable, water-resistant wood, mangroves have been used in building houses,
boats, pilings, and furniture. The wood of the black mangrove and buttonwood trees has also
been utilized in the production of charcoal. Tannins and other dyes are extracted from mangrove
bark. Leaves have been used in tea, medicine, livestock feed, and as a substitute for tobacco for
smoking. In Florida, beekeepers have set up their hives close to mangroves in order to use the
nectar in honey production.
Importance of Mangroves
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