The Maranhão mangroves (in Portuguese: ''Reentrâncias Maranhenses'') is a

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of northern Brazil. It supports half of the shorebird population of the country. The combination of flat land, heavy rainfall and high tides causes the mangroves to extend up to inland, where they are interspersed with other rainforest species.

Location

The ecoregion covers and area of on the Atlantic coast of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

state. The ecoregion is part of the Guianan-Amazon Mangroves global ecoregion, which also contains the

Guianan mangroves The Guianan mangroves (NT1411) is a coastal ecoregion of southeastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil. The mangroves provide an important habitat for migrating birds that winter in the area. Large areas are intact, although t ...

Amapá mangroves The Amapá mangroves (NT1402) is an ecoregion along the Atlantic coast of the state of Amapá in Brazil. The low coastal plain has been formed from recent sedimentation, including sediments deposited by the rivers and sediments carried northward f ...

and Pará mangroves ecoregions. The land is flat and tides may be as high as in same places, so salt water may reach inland along the many estuaries and rivers for as far as . The ecoregion may be divided into eastern and western parts. The western part extends from the Pará boundary along the coast of western Maranhão state to the

Baía de São Marcos The Baía de São Marcos is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil. The bay is an estuary approximately long and up to wide. It receives several rivers, including the Grajaú, Mearim, and Pindaré. The Mearim ...

. Here the coastline is made up of hundreds of islands and mudflats, made up of fine silt deposited by the Amazon River. The eastern part extends from the Baía de São Marcos along the eastern coast of Maranhão to the mouth of the

Parnaíba River The Parnaíba River ( ) is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. Its main course is long and the Parnaíba River Basin covers .Ramos, T.P.A.; Ramos, R.T.C.; and Ramos, S.A.Q.A. (2014). Ichthyofaun ...

. Here the coast is dominated by extensive sand dunes, interspersed with pockets of mangroves in bays and river mouths.

Climate

The ecoregion has a hot and humid.climate. Mean annual temperature is . Annual rainfall averages and may be as high as .

Flora

The ecoregion holds about 36% of all mangroves in Brazil. In the western part the mangroves cover the mudflats and islands along the coast and extend inland as far as along the many rivers, bays and estuaries. The heavy rainfall and inputs from many rivers in the region reduce salinity, so that palms (family

Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowering plants in the Monocotyledon, monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbing palm, climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly k ...

) and freshwater

macrophyte Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquat ...

s often grow with the mangroves. Towards the east of the ecoregion there are longer dry seasons and higher salinity, so the mangroves are less developed. The most common mangrove species is ''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', also known as the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree restricted to coastal, estuarine ecosystems along the southern portions of North America, the Caribbean as well as Central America ...

'', which is found nearest to the coast and grows to as high as . Other mangrove species are ''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts ...

'', ''

Avicennia schaueriana ''Avicennia schaueriana'' is a species of tropical mangrove in the Family (biology), family Acanthaceae. It grows in coastal and estuarine locations along the Atlantic coast of northeastern South America, from Venezuela and the Leeward Islands th ...

'', ''

Rhizophora racemosa ''Rhizophora racemosa'' is a species of mangrove tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. It has a patchy distribution on the Pacific coast of Central and South America, occurs in places on the Atlantic coast of that continent, and has a more widesprea ...

'', ''

Rhizophora harrisonii ''Rhizophora harrisonii'' is a species of plant in the family Rhizophoraceae. It can be found in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela. Pla ...

'', ''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia'' is a genus of plants in the family Combretaceae. The only species in the genus is ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Am ...

'' and ''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a hardy species of mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. Taxonomy These two varieties are not accepted as distinct by all authorities: *''C. e.'' var. ''erectus' ...

''. Flora that grow on the margins of the mangroves include ''

Spartina alterniflora ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

'' on the seaward side and ''

Hibiscus tiliaceus ''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zeal ...

'' and '' Acrostichum aureum'' on the landward side and dry patches within the mangroves. Flora that grow with the mangroves due to the low salinity include '' Dalbergia brownei'', '' Rhabdadenia biflora'', '' Montrichardia arborescens'', '' Mora oleifera'',

açaí palm The açaí palm (, , from Nheengatu ''asai''), '' Euterpe oleracea'', is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit (açaí berries, or simply açaí), hearts of palm (a vegetable), leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for th ...

(''Euterpe oleracea'') and ''

Attalea speciosa ''Attalea speciosa'', the babassu, babassu palm, ''babaçu, or cusi'', is a palm native to the Amazon Rainforest region in South America. The babassu palm is the predominant species in the Maranhão Babaçu forests of Maranhão and Piauí states. ...

''.

Fauna

The Maranhão mangroves are home to half the total population of shorebirds in Brazil, and 7% of all shorebirds in South America. They are also important areas for feeding and breeding for

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s (family Ardeidae) and

roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a social wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of ...

s (''Platalea ajaja''). Rare and endangered species include

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red ibis (''Eudocimus ruber''), is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven ex ...

(''Eudocimus ruber''),

wattled jacana The wattled jacana (''Jacana jacana'') is a wader in the family Jacanidae found throughout much of South America east of the Andes Mountains, Andes, as well as western Panama and Trinidad. It is the only species in the Jacanidae family with suc ...

(''Jacana jacana''),

tucuxi The tucuxi (''Sotalia fluviatilis''), alternatively known in Peru ''bufeo gris'' or ''bufeo negro'', is a species of freshwater dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon basin. The word ''tucuxi'' is derived from the Tupi language word ''tuchuc ...

(''Sotalia fluviatilis''),

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it ...

(''Trichechus manatus'') and several species of

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

that use the mangroves as a breeding area.

Status

The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

gives the ecoregion the status of "Vulnerable". It is inaccessible and has a low human population, so is mostly intact. The mangroves are used by many artisanal fishermen for subsistence crab collection. The mangrove wood is used for fuel, housing and boats, and tannin from the bark is used as a dye. In some areas mangroves have been replaced by rice fields or used for urban development. Commercial over-fishing, industrial waste and pollution from gold mining are concerns. Protected areas include the Bacanga State Park and the

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (''Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses'') is a national park in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José. Protected on June 2, 1981, the park includes of coastline, ...

, a

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

wetland of international importance and a

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is a conservation movement, conservation strategy targeting shorebirds in the Americas launched in 1985. Its aim is to protect the nesting, reproduction, breeding and Staging area (birds), st ...

site.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maranhao Mangroves Ecoregions of Brazil Mangrove ecoregions Neotropical ecoregions Amazon biome