The title question of this short paper has been addressed to me countless times by persons from all walks of life. The paper is a concise answer to the question; it might go halfway towards satisfying the questioners, but not more than halfway. This paper identifies the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems in that they are created and sustained by a small number of rooted vascular plants in the in...

Mangroves are recognized for their valued ecosystem services provision while having the highest carbon density among forested ecosystems. Yet they are increasingly threatened by deforestation, conversion to agriculture and development, reducing the benefits they provide for local livelihoods, coastal protection and climate change mitigation. Accordingly, accurate estimates of mangrove area and ...

Mangrove ecosystems dominate the coastal wetlands of tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. They provide various ecological and economical ecosystem services contributing to coastal erosion protection, water filtration, provision of areas for fish and shrimp breeding, provision of building material and medicinal ingredients, and the attraction of tourists, amongst many other fac...

Mangrove forests are unique ecosystems that are important for human populations.

Earlier observations in mangrove sediments of Goa, India have shown denitrification to be a major pathway for N loss. However, percentage of total nitrate transformed through complete denitrification accounted for <0-72% of the pore water nitrate reduced. Here, we show that up to 99% of nitrate removal in mangrove sediments is routed through dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). T...

Mangrove forests in South Asia occur along the tidal sea edge of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. These forests provide important ecosystem goods and services to the region's dense coastal populations and support important functions of the biosphere. Mangroves are under threat from both natural and anthropogenic stressors; however the current status and dynamics of the region's mangr...

Vegetation changes of tropical Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia) over the last 8000 years are derived from palaeoenvironmental analysis of a 475 cm long sediment core. During early-Holocene sea-level rise, flooding of the continental shelf and thus isolation of Lizard Island, the pollen record shows the gradual establishment of a mangrove forest paralleled by con...

Mangrove ecosystems are one of the most valuable and productive coastal ecosystems and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. These services are of value to local, national, and international communities and include provisioning (fuel wood, timber, poles, posts, charcoal, and nonwood products—such as food, thatch, fodder, medicine, and fisheries), regulating (carbon sequestration, shorelin...

The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and exp...