■ The word ‘mangrove’ may refer to the habitat as a whole or to the trees and shrubs in the mangrove swamp.

■ Mangroves are flowering trees, belonging to the families Rhizophoraceae, Acanthaceae, Lythraceae, Combretaceae, and Arecaceae.

■ They can survive under extreme hostile environments such as high salt and low oxygen conditions.

■ Underground tissue of any plant needs oxygen for respiration. But in a mangrove environment, the oxygen in soil is limited or nil.

■ The mangrove root system absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere.

■ Mangroves have special roots for this purpose called breathing roots or pneumatophores.

■ Mangroves, like desert plants, store fresh water in thick succulent leaves

■ A waxy coating on the leaves seals in water and minimises evaporation.

■ Their seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree called viviparous. Once germinated, the seedling grows into a propagule.

■ The mature propagule then drops into the water and gets transported to a different spot, eventually taking root in a solid ground.

■ Mangroves are found only along sheltered coastlines within the tropical or subtropical latitudes because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

■ They share the unique capability of growing within reach of the tides in salty soil.

■ The total mangrove cover in the world is one 1,50,000 sq kms.

■ Asia has the largest number of mangroves worldwide.

■ South Asia comprises 6.8% of the world’s mangrove cover.

■ India’s contribution is 45.8% total mangrove cover in South Asia.

■ According to the India State of Forest Report, 2019, the mangrove cover in India is 4,975 sq km, which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.

■ West Bengal has the highest percentage of area under total Mangrove cover followed by Gujarat and Andaman Nicobar Islands.

■ Sundarbans in West Bengal are the largest mangrove forest regions in the world. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

■ The second largest mangrove forest in India is Bhitarkanika in Odisha created by the two river deltas of River Brahmani and Baitarani.

■ The deltas of the Ganges, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari, and the Cauvery rivers contain mangrove forests.

■ The backwaters in Kerala have a high density of mangrove forest.