Impacts of Climate Change on Asian Mangrove Forests

Abstract

Mangroves are woody trees and shrubs which thrive in the inhospitable zone between land and sea along the tropical and subtropical coasts of the globe. Mangroves have made significant contributions to the economical status of the coastal communities of tropical regions for centuries, affording a large number of goods and services such aswood and timber production, salt production, support for commercial and subsistence fisheries, protection of shoreline from cyclones and typhoons and controlling coastal erosion. It has been estimated that the total mangrove area of the world was 137,760 km2 in 2000, and Asia occupies the largest mangrove covering area in the world. The mangrove forests of Asia are currently threatened by many human activities. Besides the overexploitation of mangrove ecosystems by human activities, climate changes pose serious impacts on Asian mangrove forests. The recent studies that have focused on various climate change components affecting the mangrove forests will be discussed in this chapter with special emphasis on Asian mangrove forests. The changes in the temperature, atmospheric CO2 concentration, precipitation, storms, ocean circulation patterns, hydrology (flows of tidal and fresh