Mangrove species zonation: why?

Abstract

Mangroves are a taxonomically-diverse group of woody spermatophytes which possess a common ability to survive and perpetuate themselves along sheltered tropical coastlines in saline environments under tidal influence. A halophytic existence is made possible through a wide range of morphological, anatomical and physiological adaptations which has elicited much scientific interest (Walsh, 1974; Chapman, 1976). Although mangroves share a common ability to exist as halophytes in a common environment, they frequently appear in rather predictable mono-specific zones parallel to shorelines, tidal channels, and the banks of rivers and streams influenced by the sea. Thus, mangrove species zonation has been a dominant theme in a voluminous literature on mangroves which exceeds 7,000 titles (B. Rollet, pers. comm.1).