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4 Types of Mangrove Forest in the World

by Widiya

Abrasion is soil erosion that occurs in coastal ecosystem areas caused by sea waves. The sea waves that continue to hit the shore over time will cause erosion on the shoreline. This erosion, if left unchecked, will definitely bring bad effects, such as the erosion of sand so that the land gets smaller.

We need to know that abrasion if left unchecked will be detrimental especially in the long term. So, the abrasion must be prevented as much as possible so that the land remains protected and does not run out. Various ways are carried out by the government to prevent coastal abrasion and one of them is to plant mangroves around the coast.

Mangrove trees are trees that we often encounter around the coast. Mangrove trees have the characteristic of having a breath root. The breath root is a root that arises or appears to the surface so that from the land we can see the roots of this tree. Why are mangrove trees chosen as fortress trees on the beach? One reason is that the characteristics possessed by this tree are in the form of breath roots.

It is these breath roots that will block the ocean waves from eroding the shoreline. Mangrove plants or commonly called mangroves are very suitable plants to protect this shoreline. Well, mangrove forests are in fact having various types. On this occasion, we will discuss the types of mangrove forests.

At first glance, it looks just the same. But behind that, there are certain types of mangrove forests. We will explain some types of mangrove forest below.

  1. Rhizophoraceae

The first type of mangrove forest that we can find, especially in Indonesia is Rhizophoraceae or what is often referred to as Mangrove trees. Mangrove trees are usually found on the coast. Mangrove trees consist of several fruits. Some families from mangrove trees include:

  • Mangrove/Stilted Mangrove (Rhizophora)
  • Tancang/Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera)
  • Tangere/Yellow Mangrove (Ceriops)

Those are some families from mangrove trees. Usually, we find this mangrove family in one or several regions. Mangrove trees are useful to be able to drive waves that will cause abrasion on the beach.

  1. Sonneratiaceae (Perepat or Gogem)

The second type of mangrove forest that we can find is the type of Sonneratiaceae. This type of Sonneratiaceae has only one type, namely Sonneratia or commonly called Apple Mangrove. This tree can live in the water-soaked area only 10 to 19 times in one month. So we can say that the habitat of this tree is not in an area that is always rough or submerged in water. Sometimes we will find the roots of these plants always sticking up (above the ground) when the area of their habitat is not submerged by water.

  1. Avicenniaceae (Fire-Fire Tree)

The type of mangrove that is a cell, the direction is Avicenniaceae or known as the fire-fire tree. This fire-fire tree has an acoustic characteristic with the tree above, Apple Mangrove. The fire-fire tree has only one type, Avicennia which consists of white or gray mangrove. The Fire-fire Mangrove Tree also has the same habitat as the Apple Mangrove Tree, which is in an area submerged in water as much as 10 to 19 times per month. This type of fire-fire tree grows the most and we find it in the area closest to the sea.

  1. Family Meliaceae (Nyirih)

The fourth type of mangrove forest is mangrove forest overgrown by the family Meliaceae or Nyirih plants. This plant is one of the mangrove species which is divided into two other types, namely Xylocarpus and Hibiscus spp. This type of Xylocarpus comes from the Nypa spp family and we can find it in certain areas, namely in areas that are still affected by tides while Hibiscus spp is the most common type of mangrove and we encounter the most in seasonally dependent areas because these plants dominate the area.

Those are some type of mangrove forest that is usually planted or we meet around the coast. From the various types of mangrove forests, we can see that all types of mangrove forests have the same basic function of protecting the coast from abrasion.

(Also read: 10 Ways to Preserve the Sea and the Beach for the Earth)

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