Unlike when I see other wastes in rivers, river mouths or on the beach, mangrove waste actually pleases me. Mangrove litter that seems to accumulate on the bank of a river estuary at low tide is not a dirty thing in my view. It is actually one of the products of the mangrove forest with amazing benefits. That is one of the benefits of mangrove forests from its many benefits for the environment and ecosystems in coastal areas.
We know, for example, that mangrove roots capture sediment and can build land at a later time because of the accumulated sediment. I think that the mangrove leaf litter which will then be decomposed also plays a role in building the land.
Feeders in the ecosystem
But the most obvious thing for me, the leaves and twigs of mangroves that fall into the water and which are then decomposed will become a rich source of nutrients for organisms that live in the mangrove swamp habitat. The nutrients can also be exported to lagoons and coral reefs to feed the various fish that live there. So, this mangrove leaf litter, in my view, plays a role in creating a good quality of life and is also a contributor to prosperity. It may not be the form, but the benefits, that make something look beautiful.
The hermit crab, the often seen inhabitant of the mangrove habitat, is playing in the mangrove leaf litter.
Bioactivator provider
I read this in a review on this website, entitled Mangroves and Its Health Benefits, by Delianis Pringgenies, from the Department of Marine Science, Diponegoro University, Indonesia. There it is said that the mangrove waste will be decomposed by microbes into nutrients that are beneficial to plants. This indicates that symbiont microbes from mangrove waste play a role in fertilization. After conducting research to determine the function of bioactivator from mangrove waste, it was identified that microbial symbionts from mangrove waste were a potential bioactivator solution. So, this will also add one more reason why this leaf litter looks beautiful to my eyes.
Fiddler crabs are a large community that you can see always bustling in the mangrove substrate.
Note:
*All photos are my own.
**For the necessary text references have been embedded in the text.