mangroves
The mangroves are particular
forests which one finds
on the
marshy coasts and in the
estuaries (mouths of the rivers) in
all areas
equatorial and tropical of the
world.
The mangroves push on the benches of mud
and sediments brought to the sea by the rivers. They are "wetlands".
One finds them only on the portions of coasts covered by the sea with high tide
and discovered with low tide. They cover approximately 150
000 km 2 in the world.
WHICH ARE THE TREES WHICH PUSH IN THE
MANGROVES?
The trees which compose the mangroves are
primarily mangroves. They are
recognized with their large roots which are not anchored in the ground but push
in the mud, and which is with the free air with low tide. The mangroves and the
other plants of the mangroves have the characteristic to be able to push in
salted water. The whole of the roots of the trees of the mangrove form a
tangled up network. This network of roots protects the coasts against
erosion due to the marine currents, the waves and the wind.
Who are the inhabitants of the
mangroves?
The mangroves shelter also a
large variety of forms of life. The crabs, such as for example the
crabs violonists, swarm there. They nourish tiny organizations which live on
the surface of the mud or the sheets of the mangroves.
All kinds of fish species come to lay
there, and, between the roots of the mangroves, the young fish are protected
from their predatory. In the mangroves of the Indian Oceans and the Pacific,
one meets the périophtalme —a fish able to survive during several days out of
water! — and the fish-archer, who posts himself under the surface of water and
cuts down of a jet of saliva the insects or the spiders which venture above.
The mangroves shelter also reptiles
(alligators, snakes such as for
example the anaconda), all kinds of insects, molluscs
and a multitude of species of birds. In Belize for example (a small
country of Central America), approximately
500 different species of
birds were identified in the mangroves.
The mangroves thus form a complete
ecosystem built around the
mangroves.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire