ABSTRACT

Mangroves can, therefore, be classified as an almost exclusively tropical marine ecosystem with virtually no counterpart in temperate regions having anywhere near the same macrophyte species diversity. In Southeast Asia, mangrove forests are also utilized, on a large scale, as an important source of wood products, notably charcoal production. This chapter attempts to predict the possible impacts of pollutants inputs into mangrove soils and waterways on both the "terrestrial" and "aquatic" nutrient stocks and biota. It examines the available data on standing stocks and fluxes of organic and inorganic nutrients in mangroves. The chapter describes the influence of inorganic nutrients on primary production and growth of the various elements of the mangrove ecosystem. Discussion is limited to the major nutrient elements, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and, in most cases, is limited to the situation in undisturbed forests. The chapter aims to synthesize the available information to predict the likely impact of nutrient pollution in tropical mangroves.