ENVIRONMENT

MANGROVE

Without it, what would life be?!

Paletuviers - Turks and Caicos -

300.000 km2 of our planete is covered with mangrove which is one of the most important ecosysteme.

Mangrove refer to more of 60 diffrents plants growing in very low water where plants are able to survive in a brackish water.

Mangrove is the basis of the very complex marine food chain. Due to the tides, marine fungus and bacteria transforms the carbon difficult to digest into nitrogen which is rich in nutritive decomposing value. The particles covered with micro-organisms then are eatable by a wide range of tiny animals as worms, snails, shrimps, muscles, clams, oysters and some fishes. Those rubbishes eaters will become a good meal for carnivorous as crabs and fishes, then birds and it will be so up to the human being.

To some species this is also the most important place for breeding and it offers an irreplaceable and unique liveable habitat to certains types of birds, mamals, shellfishes, and fishes. The mangrove preserve and improve the water quality by filtering the organic matter in suspension. It alson assimilate the pollutants coming from the earth and by doing so helps in reducting the pollution. It also stabilyses the underwater depth seas and protects our shores from erosion .

Hollandes cayes - San Blas - Panama

- 4 types of paletuvier can be seen in the mangrove :

• Rizophora mangle or red palétuvier is the less resistant to salinity and is seen on the seashore. It get stuck in the muddy underwater and survive to tides. Its germination happens on the tree and not in the water or on the land. This way as soon as it gets to the water it takes roots right away.

Mangrove - Luperon - République dominicaine

• Avicenia germinans or black palétuvier noir is seen just behind and forms a very dense net of horizontals roots which are anchored in a very soft soil. There are aerial roots too which help it to breath while immerse under very salty waters. They manage to expulse the salt through the leaves or the sap.

mangrove - linton - Panama cote est -	mangrove - Ile d'Andros - Bahamas

• Lagoncularia racemosa or white paletuviers are coming next followed by the etang-bois- sec, offering no plant due to a major salinity in the soil.

Mangrove- Ragged Island - Bahamas		Mangrove - Ragged Island - Bahamas
	Mangrove - Great Exuma - Bahamas

• Conocarpus erectus also called grey paletuvier is not adapted to flooding but is able to survive a great level of salinity. It has very tiny and thick silver leaves.

Ragged Island- Jumentos - Bahamas
		Mangrove -Great Exuma - Bahamas
Mangrove - Andros - Bahamas