Mangrove Ecosystems: Definitions, Distribution, Zonation, Forest Structure, Trophic Structure, and Ecological Significance
By Karen L. McKee

Ecological Significance

Although early workers regarded mangrove forests as unimportant, transitional communities with a low productivity, most ecologists today view them as highly productive, ecologically important systems. Four major roles of mangrove swamps are recognized:

1. Mangroves contribute to soil formation and help stabilize coastlines.
2. Mangroves act as filters for upland runoff.
3. Mangrove systems serve as habitat for many marine organisms such as fish, crabs, oysters, and other invertebrates and wildlife such as birds and reptiles.
4. Mangroves produce large amounts of detritus that may contribute to productivity in offshore waters.

In addition to these ecologically important roles, mangrove forests possess attributes that are specifically important to humans:

1. Mangrove forests serve as protection for coastal communities against storms such as hurricanes. It has been suggested that the large loss of life (300,000 to 500,000 lives) in Bangladesh during the 1970 typhoon was partly due to the fact that many of the mangrove swamps protecting those populated coastal regions had been removed and replaced by rice paddies.

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