mangroves

Mangrove forestes are one of our most important and widespread coastal ecosystems. In Australia, mangrove forests occupy approximately 11,600 square kilometres of coastal foreshore and estuary areas, of which 4,600 square kilometres are in Queensland. These forest are vital to the biological productiveity of Australia's coastal waters.

 

Lovelock, Catherine; Clarke, Steve (1993). "Field Guide to the Mangroves of Queensland". Australian Institute of Marine Science. http://www.aims.gov.au/source/publications/marine-science-info/pdf/field-guide-tothe-mangroves-of-qld.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-23. 



Mangrove Tree species in Australia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mangrove_Tree_Species_of_Australia




Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge, and tsunamis.^[13][14] The massive root systems of mangroves are efficient at dissipating wave energy.^[15] Mangroves retard the tidal movement of water, allowing sediment to be deposited as the tide comes in, and leaving all except fine particles when the tide ebbs.^[16] Mangroves therefore build their own environment.^[13]
The commercial and recreational fishing industries are prime beneficiaries of mangrove forests, which provide breeding and feeding grounds for fish and prawns.^[1] About 75% of the fish and prawns caught for commercial and recreational purposes in Queensland spend at least part of their lifecycles in mangroves.^{[1]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_mangroves}

Many traditional medicines are made from mangroves, including those for treating skin disorders, headaches, rheumatism, snake bite, ulcers and many more. 
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/mangroves.HTM

The Amazing Mangrove Forest http://marinebio.org/oceans/estuaries-salt-marshes-mangroves.asp
an American site but interesting

A crucial component of the coastal ecosystem and a powerful form of erosion control, mangrove trees provide shelter and nutrients to their ecosystems. Like salt marshes, these shallow, nutrient rich areas provide shelter to young fish, shrimps, crabs and mollusks where they can live safely and develop. Hundreds of bird species migrate and nest in mangrove forests such as those found in Belize that provide a home to over 500 species of birds. Other animals that inhabit mangrove forests include manatees, sea turtles, fishing cats, monitor lizards and mud-skipper fish. Not only do mangrove trees directly support countless food webs, they are also indirectly responsible for the survival of the most primary planktonic and epiphytic algal food chains, which in turn provide carbon for the mangrove tree. Mangroves protect coastlines from storm damage, wave effects, and erosion. Erosion is avoided when mangroves take on the force of the waves and help replace lost sediment by catching suspended particles in their root system while simultaneously keeping that same silt from covering (and damaging) coral reefs and sea grass beds.
Mangroves in Detail
The highly adaptable mangrove tree is classified into 16-24 families and 54-75 species, with only four of those living on the southern coasts of the United States and 12 in the western hemisphere. Most mangrove species are found in Southeast Asia. Mangroves are highly adaptable depending on their environment in size, ability to spread seeds, and their niche in the ecosystem. Mangroves range in size from a small shrub up to 40 m tall. The red mangrove and several other species of mangroves have lenticels, or small pores in the prop roots through which oxygen can be brought into the aerenchyma, or air space tissue in the cortex of the plant, during low tide.
Reproductive strategies including viviparity and long-living propagules allow the mangrove to spread over large distances. Viviparity is the reproductive strategy where the embryo is safely nourished and germinated on the parent tree (rather than in the ground), allowing the developing tree to avoid the severe saline environment. The embryos drop to the soil from the protection of the parent tree after early development has already occurred and they have stored enough carbohydrates to survive. Some species of mangroves distribute what are known as propagules, seedlings that fall from the branches and float long distances. These propagules can establish roots up to 1 year after they fall from the parent plant. The mangrove can take root on the edge of islands, in sheltered bays and estuaries and further inland. Mangroves must be able to adjust to the changing of tides, temperature, ocean currents, steep sloping shores and a variety of soil types. They can thrive in mud, sand, coral, peat and rock.
Environmental Concerns - Mangrove Forests
The mangrove ecosystem is a sustainable resource that provides huge numbers of people with food, tannins, fuel wood, construction materials and even medicines. When a mangrove forest is protected, it will support an entire population of coastal residents. Mangroves offer protection of property and life from hurricanes and storms, as well as reduction in erosion and siltation. Plants in mangrove forests can absorb nitrates and phosphates, cleaning up and restoring water near the shore in a natural and completely cost-free manner. Unfortunately, as with many of our natural resources, mangrove forests are quickly being lost to pollution and development. The lenticels in mangrove roots are extremely sensitive to parasite attack, clogging by crude oil and unnatural prolonged flooding. The most severe problem is the clearing of thousands of hectares of forest to create man-made shrimp ponds for the shrimp aquaculture industry. Along with the impact from the charcoal and timber industries, the mangrove forest will eventually be lost to environmental stress if these trends continue. Another contributing factor to the devastation of mangrove forests is the governmental and industrial classification of these areas as useless swampland. Areas most severely affected by the devastation are Thailand (50% loss of mangrove forests since 1960), the Philippines (338,000 hectares lost between the 1920s and 1990), and Ecuador (20% loss of its mangrove coastline). In the Muisne region of Ecuador, approximately 90% of the mangrove forests have been lost. Overall, up to 50% of the world's mangrove destruction can be attributed to the shrimp farm activity.
Increased conservation efforts for mangrove protection are needed to address clearing of these areas for shrimp farming and land development.