Mangrove Forests: One of the World's Threatened Major Tropical Environments: At least 35% of the area of mangrove forests has been lost in the past two decades, losses that exceed those for tropical rain forests and coral reefs, two other well-known threatened environments

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The mass media and scientific press have widely reported losses of tropical environments, such as felling of rain forests and bleaching of coral reefs. This well-merited attention has created a worldwide constituency that supports conservation and restoration efforts in both of these threatened ecosystems. The remarkable degree of public awareness and support has been manifested in benefit rock concerts at Carnegie Hall and in the designation of ice cream flavors after rain forest products. Mangrove forests are another important tropical environment, but these have received much less publicity. Concern about the magnitude of losses of mangrove forests has been voiced mainly in the specialized literature (Saenger et al. 1983, Spalding et al. 1997).

Mangrove trees grow ubiquitously as a relatively narrow fringe between land and sea, between latitudes 25°N and 30°S. They form forests of salt-tolerant species, with complex food webs and ecosystem dynamics (Macnae 1968, Lugo and Snedaker 1974, Tomlinson 1986).