ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to characterize the ecology and management of mangrove wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea relative to human impacts and resource utilization. The ecological functions of mangroves are linked to the processes of mangrove wetlands that are constrained by the environmental setting of a particular coastal region, which are indicated by the forcing functions. An ecogeomorphic classification of mangroves describes the diversity of mangrove communities as a combination of geophysical processes of coastal environments along with ecological processes within a local habitat. The frequency, duration, and severity of freezing temperature are prime factors governing the distribution and abundance of mangroves in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regional patterns of mangrove zonation following the global constraints of temperature depend on moisture content of intertidal soils, which is controlled by the balance of rainfall and evapotranspiration, together with the inundation by rivers and tides.
