Mangroves Forests
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Introduction:
Mangroves forests are commonly found growing abundantly in sheltered coasts (Bosire et al. 2008; Nagelkerken et al. 2008). Their ability to tolerate high salt concentrations and tides made them the dominant residence of the entire mangrove forests. The tolerance to salt water is due to several adaptations of the root systems; high specialized barks; salt excreting leaves etc. Like normal ecosystems, mangroves ecosystem provides high biodiversity where it becomes homes for many species. Apart from that, it serves as protection in a way that it lessens the impact of natural disasters like tsunami (Teh et al. 2009). In terms of classification, mangrove forests are classified as primary forests.
A secondary forest has very distinctive characteristics to a primary forest. A secondary forest is a previously disturbed forest that is undergoing succession vegetation to form a completely new ecosystem (Emrich, 2000). It may be of man-made disturbances or simply, natural disasters. The secondary forest hosts various new species of trees and plants. However, traits of the previous forest can still be seen. These traits offer evidences of the existence of the primary forest. McShea et al. (2009) concluded that secondary forests are important because they serve a great role in wildlife conversation.
In this report, two very distinctive ecosystems, the mangroves and a secondary forests derived from a mangrove ecosystem are compared. The site of study took place in Kuala Selangor in which the two sites are near to each other. The mangroves, situated at the coast of Kuala Selangor grow on the accumulated sediment washed by sea water. On the other hand, the secondary forest is situated away from the sea, keeping it drier than the mangrove. Important measurements of abiotic factors and identification of tree and plant species are done extensively to differentiate between the two. Similarities, however, are not neglected as they provide a more supportive conclusion and evidences of the age and characteristics of the two forests.
This study aims to fully understand the characteristics between the two ecosystems and finally differentiate them. On top of that, the importance of biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystems is aimed to be understood. No similar study like this has been conducted at large scale. However, a previous study has been conducted on the net productivity of a mangrove species, Bruguiera parviflora, on the same site of the study (Hossain, 2008). Bruguiera parviflora is a common species found in Kuala Selangor. This mangrove species will be further discussed in this report.