Abstract
Mangroves are coastal forests consisting of trees and shrubs found in sheltered estuaries and along river banks and lagoons in the tropics and subtropics. Mangroves are intractable environments and their ecological role has been ignored for a long period of time. Seafarers and naturalists had a rather bleak view of mangrove ecosystems. The Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari published in his itinerary “Wandering in the great forests of Borneo” in 1904: “A mangrove swamp is one of the most difficult and fatiguing things in the world transverse. To live in it would be the most abominable of existences, if only for the myriads of mosquitoes that swarm in it. Its aspect is singularly monotonous, weird and desolate.” This austere picture of mangrove forests persisted for a long time. Only in the last few decades has the scientific and public interest in mangroves become more intensive. A recent overview of the FAO on changes in the global status of mangrove forests in the last 25 years showed that mangrove loss still continues at alarming rates. And information on the status and trends of the extent of mangroves at the global level has been scarce.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saint-Paul, U., Schneider, H. (2010). The Need for a Holistic Approach in Mangrove Research and Management. In: Saint-Paul, U., Schneider, H. (eds) Mangrove Dynamics and Management in North Brazil. Ecological Studies, vol 211. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13457-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13457-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13456-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13457-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)