Abstract
Abstract: Recent statements from the Brazilian federal government indicate that impacting economic activities, particularly commercial shrimp farming, are being encouraged in mangrove areas in the near future. Alterations of the National Action Plan and legal instruments that partially protected mangrove ecosystems have created an even weaker legal framework than previously existed. Such changes are leading Brazil far from the global call to conserve mangroves and from the Aichi targets and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, the loss of mangrove ecosystems and their ecosystem services will negatively impact living standards for Brazilians in coastal areas.
Highlights
Mangroves (Figure 1) represent highly productive ecosystems, once relatively common along tropical and subtropical oceanic coastlines, especially around estuaries, and currently present over an area about 181,000 km2 globally (Donato et al 2011, Giri et al 2011)
Mangrove ecosystems are characterized by transitional gradients of physiological and ecological characteristics, strongly influenced by salinity, nutrient concentrations, soil type, tidal amplitudes, and freshwater inputs, all of which create hostile conditions for most plant species (Walsh 1974, Cintrón & Schaeffer-Novelli 1983, Araujo & Pereira 2009, Silva et al 2016)
Brazilian mangrove plant associations are dominated by specialized species
Summary
Mangroves (Figure 1) represent highly productive ecosystems, once relatively common along tropical and subtropical oceanic coastlines, especially around estuaries, and currently present over an area about 181,000 km globally (Donato et al 2011, Giri et al 2011). Mangrove ecosystems are characterized by transitional gradients of physiological and ecological characteristics, strongly influenced by salinity, nutrient concentrations, soil type, tidal amplitudes, and freshwater inputs, all of which create hostile conditions for most plant species (Walsh 1974, Cintrón & Schaeffer-Novelli 1983, Araujo & Pereira 2009, Silva et al 2016). Brazilian mangrove plant associations are dominated by specialized species. Those species include herbaceous, shrubby, and woody plants (Schaeffer-Novelli & Cintrón 1986, Bernini & Rezende 2004, Martins et al 2011, Santos et al 2012, Flora do Brazil 2020) (Figure 1).
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