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T Benedict's avatar

Here in Florida the coastal development and urban sprawl have certainly contributed to mangrove destruction. And it's stupid since this destruction actually removes their buffering effect from hurricanes, allowing more storm damage to coastal infrastructure. I did not know about the impact from shrimp farming...another reason not to eat farm-raised shrimp! Thanks for raising awareness!

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Amie Pearce's avatar

It’s a vicious cycle and nothing does the job better than nature!

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T Benedict's avatar

I don’t know about many decades but supposedly 80% of remaining mangrove acreage is set aside for conservation. The problem, as you mention, is so much that was removed and not replaced.

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Amanda Royal's avatar

Is it true it's been illegal to remove mangroves in Florida for many decades? The state still suffers from all the mangroves it did remove. It's hard to get them back once they are gone.

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HistoryExplained's avatar

Nature is truly miraculous. I remember a friend of mine telling me about mangroves back in my second year of university. She was studying ecology, and I learned so much about the importance of biodiversity from her!

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Jacob Clarke's avatar

I had no idea how much carbon is being stored in mangroves. Hopefully there is a way for humans still to develop as we need, but protect important parts of the ecosystems as well.

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Carola Seyfert's avatar

Mangroves are wonderful ecosystems, and the more we know about them we can hopefully do a better job at protecting and restoring them. Thanks for telling people about their unique values, Amie. Here’s a report on some research you might be interested in (or already familiar with, but just in case).

https://www.deltares.nl/en/news/how-mangroves-can-protect-coastlines-worldwide

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Amanda Royal's avatar

Good stuff!

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Dave's avatar

Do you think you can make mangroves out of nothing on any beachfront?

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