mangrove

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• published: 25 May 2011
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The mangrove, a forest found in the river mouths of tropical and subtropical regions. They form in places of gentle river currents where mud flats appear due to the coming and going of the tide. Approximately 100 types of plants are known to be native to mangroves. Of these, there is an overwhelming number of the rhizophoraceae family such as black mangrove and kandelia obovata. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that without the mysterious abilities of the rhizophoraceae family of plants there would have been no mangroves to start with. Many plants in the rhizophoraceae family bear long, thin pod-like fruit. The seeds are located inside the pod, close to the branch. The seeds of average plants germinate using the nutrients contained within. However, the rhizophoraceae family receives nutrients from the branch and germinates while still attached to it. Once at a certain advanced stage of germination, the pod detaches from the branch. The rhizophoraceae pods pierce the mud so that they aren't washed away by high tide, using mud flats to grow for generation after generation and create the forest we call a mangrove. This method of germination is called "vivipary" and is not common outside of the rhizophoraceae family, which itself requires mud flats before this germination will occur. So, how is it that the rhizophoraceae knows that the mud flat is there? It's not hard to imagine that this is connected with the salt rich seawater that works its way up the river at high tide. However, there are some instances that this cannot explain. Oike pond on Minami-daito Island is home to extremely unusual landlocked black mangrove vegetation. While the deep section of this pond is seawater, the marshland the black mangroves inhabit is fresh water. However, this black mangrove, once again, utilizes vivipary. The key to vivipary is not salinity, but rather how long the roots and trunk will be submerged. The pond's connection to the ocean and the changing water levels that its tides bring is precisely why this landlocked black mangrove vegetation exists here. Fur inside the rhizophoraceae roots filters out salt, and these plants also have the mysterious ability to concentrate any excess salt passed in a single leaf. However, the most important factor for the rhizophoraceae is how water levels change with the tide. "Vivipary" may have been devised to ensure that seeds washed away by high tide would swiftly take root in some faraway region. The mangrove is home to several mysterious ecosystems, most of which are generated by the rhythm of the tides. Rhizophoraceae, too, has a sensor for analyzing the tides, and it is by this rhythm that it has created the wonderful world of the mangrove. Humans do not have such refined sensors with which to measure the natural world. However, humankind posses the power of analysis, one that goes beyond our natural limitations. The protection of this diverse and beautiful earth through the analysis of nature is a mission that has been entrusted to humankind.