the highest density of mangrove forests would be found in tropics and near-tropics geography.
the highest density of mangrove forests would be found in tropics and near-tropics geography.
in what type of geography would the highest density of mangrove forests be found?
tropics and near-tropics
as of 2012, mangroves are found in 105 nations globally. although distributed across 105 nations, the top 10 mangrove holding nations contain approximately 52% of the global mangrove stock with indonesia alone containing between 26% and 29% of the entire global mangrove stock. the largest continuous area of mangrove forest is likely in-and-around the sundarbans national park in india and the sundarbans mangrove forests in bangladesh, which are both recognized by unesco as world heritage sites. although existing almost exclusively in the tropics and near-tropics, warm ocean currents support mangrove forests as far north as walsingham nature reserve (idwal hughes nature reserve) in bermuda and as far south as snake island, australia.
mangrove tree distribution
when she joined the usda forest service's institute of pacific islands forestry, she led the wetlands team's research on mangrove forests and forested peatlands in the pacific. while working in the pacific, ewel researched and described the structure of mangrove forests and trees in micronesia, publishing an academic paper on it in 1999. furthermore, she studied the affect the formation of gaps in the forest canopy in pacific islands's mangrove forests would have on the ecosystem, finding that large gaps may have large impacts in dryer mangrove forests. one of her most cited papers, "different kinds of mangrove forests provide different goods and services", discusses three types of mangrove forests; fringe forest, riverine forest, and basin forest, each with their own unique ecological service. ewel wrote that fringe forests provide storm protection for ecosystems and land along coasts, while riverine forests are most valuable for plants and animals as it has the highest productivity, and basin forests are an important nutrient sink. ewel also wrote about the importance of monitoring the affects of anthropogenic processes and climate change on the invertebrate, plant, and fungi that are so important in the maintenance of marine critical zones such as estuaries and coastal wetlands as their diversity is important for keeping the ecosystems functioning and supporting a much larger range of biota.
katherine ewel