Very cool Buttonwood mangrove, Conocarpus erectus, on the beach in San Pedro
Good firewood! It burns green, a very hard wood. This one is at least 30 years old.
Mangroves play a vital role in being a nursery ground for numerous marine species, that a healthy fish population is highly dependent on a healthy mangrove ecosystem. Mangroves are also habitat for many birds and reptiles and they act as a shoreline stabilizer.
Here are some of the many reasons mangroves are so important!
1. they provide habitat to thousands of species
2. they can grow in various types of soil
3. their roots provide coastal protection from storms
4. they store more carbon that rain forests
Photograph by Marlena Gomez
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