A study conducted by IIT Bombay demonstrates that emergent coastal vegetation, including mangroves, serves as an effective defense system that significantly reduces the damage caused by tsunami waves to coastal infrastructure.
Emergent vegetation refers to aquatic plants that are rooted in the soil, with their stems, leaves, and flowers extending above the water's surface.
About Mangroves
Mangroves are emergent trees with robust submerged roots, stiff stems, and trunks that help reduce wave forces, acting as natural bio-shields against extreme ocean disasters.
Significance of Mangroves:
- Improved Water Quality: They filter out excess nutrients and sediments.
- Biodiversity Support: Mangroves provide nursery, feeding, and breeding grounds for various species, including crabs, prawns, mollusks, birds, reptiles, and mammals.
- Food and Livelihood Security: Mangroves are a source of vital nutrients, including protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins. They also offer grazing grounds for livestock and supply fuelwood and charcoal.
- Carbon Sink: Mangroves store an average of 394 tonnes of carbon per hectare.
- Coastal Protection: They reduce propagation speeds, inundation depths, and overall flood extent by slowing down and redirecting storm surges, while also attenuating wind and swell waves.
Threats to Mangroves:
According to the IUCN, 50% of mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse. The primary threats include coastal development, deforestation for agriculture and shrimp farming, climate change, rising sea levels, and the increasing frequency of cyclonic storms.
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