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BIOLOGY
PRESENTATION
CHAPTER 8
|| 8.2.3 MANGROVE SWAMPS ||

|| MANGROVE SWAMPS ||

CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE MANGROVE SWAMPS
Are found in tropical and subtropical
regions where freshwater meets salt
water.
Characterised by soft, muddy soil with
a high concentration of salt and very
low levels of oxygen.
It is exposed to a high intensity of
sunlight.


1.
2.
3.
4.

Example of
mangrove
swamps:
Avicennia sp.
Rhizophora sp.
Sonneratia sp.
Bruguiera sp.

There are 3 types of

Mangrove Trees :

Mangrove trees with

pneumatophores.
Mangrove trees with prop roots.
Mangrove trees with buttress
roots.

MANGROVE TREES WITH

PNEUMATOPHORES

Mangrove trees such as Avicennia sp.

have long underground cable roots that
support them in soft and muddy soil and
protect them from strong coastal winds.
Those roots also produce hundreds of
thin, vertical breathing roots called
pneumatophores which project above
the water around the trees.

 At the end of the pneumatophores

are aerenchyma tissues for gaseous
exchange.
Aerenchyma is a type of parenchyma
tissue with plenty of air spaces
between its cells that enable the
root to float and also to facilitate
gaseous exchange.

 Pneumatophores trap mud and

organic sediment and the amount of
soil increases and become more
compact and firm as time passes.This
will make the habitat suitable for
succession by other plants such as
Rhizophora sp.

Pneumatophores
of Avicennia sp.

MANGROVE TREES WITH

PROP ROOTS
The Rhizophora sp. have prop
roots which is an aerial roots that
not only anchor the plants to the
mud, but also play an important
role in aeration.
Aeration can also take place
through lenticels found on the
tree bark of Rhizophora sp.

 The prop roots help the plants to

breathe and trap the deposit floating
debris, wood, sand and mud brought
in by the tide.
Over time, this deposition creates
firmer soil, raises the ground level
and make it drier.

Prop roots of Rhizophora sp.

 The leaves of mangroves have thick

cuticles that help them reduce
transpiration during hot weather. Besides,
the leaves are succulent and able to store
water.
The root cells of mangroves have a higher
osmotic pressure than the surrounding
salt water. Thus, the cell sap of the roots
does not lose water by osmosis.

Did you feel like

these?!

 Salt water that enters the root

cells is excreted through
hydathodes, the pores in the
epidermis of the leaves.
Mangrove seeds are able to
germinate while still being
attached to the parent tree. This
is called viviparity.

 They have viviparous seedlings that

start to germinate while still being
attached to the parent on the tree
branch. This characteristic ensures
that the seedling gets enough
oxygen.

 When the seedling falls into the

mud, the radicle shaped like a
dagger gets anchored into the mud
which prevents it from being
washed away by the tides of the
sea.

|| Viviparous seedlings ||

 Mangrove swamps along tropicals

bays characteristically show zonation.
The seaweed zone is fully exposed to
high tides twice a day. The species of
mangroves that inhabit this zone
include Avicennia sp. and Sonneratia
sp.

 The middle zone is inhabited by

Rhizophora sp.
The inland zone is less frequently
covered by sea water.This is where
Bruguiera sp. grows.

 The pioneer species in a mangrove

swamp are the Avicennia sp. and the
Sonneratia sp.
The extensive root sytems of these
mangrove trees collect sediments
including organic matter from
decaying plants.

The distribution of
mangroves at one area.

Colonisation and Succession

in The Mangrove Swamp

The Distribution of Mangroves at

One Area Near The Straits of
Malacca

 When the soil becomes more compact

and firm, this condition favours the
growth of Rhizophora sp. Gradually, it
replaces the pioneer species.
The arching roots of Rhizophora sp.
Trap silt and mud, creating a firmer soil
structure over time. The ground
becomes more suitable for other species
of mangroves such as Bruguiera sp.,
which replaces Rhizophora sp.

H
A
V
E
F
U
N
!

MANGROVE TREES WITH

BUTTRESS ROOTS
Bruguiera sp. grows well in hard
clayey soil that is occasionally
flooded by high tides.
The buttress roots of Brugueira sp.
Form loops which protrude from the
soil to trap more silt and mud.This
modifies the soil structure gradually.

 Over time, and after the soil

structure is further modified,
terrestrial plant such as Nypa
fruticans and Padanus sp. begin to
replace Bruguiera sp.

Buttress roots of
Bruguiera sp.

 The transition from a mangrove

swamp to a terrestrial forest and
eventually to a tropical rainforest
which is a climax community takes a
long time.