Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk, Cairns.
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Mangroves are an absolutely vital coastal ecosystem. In the wet tropics they are especially complex and rich in species. Mangroves protect the sea from the land and the land from the sea. They provide stability to the coastline and buffer terrestrial ecosystems from the ocean during cyclones and storm surge. Likewise, our mangrove forests protect the ocean from the land based ecosystems, filtering pollutants and sediments from our rivers before they reach the sea. Mangroves are the keystone between the rainforest and the reef. Without them, neither would flourish. They are the essential inbetween, and magnificent in their own right. Far North Queensland habours the most diverse set of mangroves in Australia, as well as some of the tallest and oldest mangroves. Mangroves have a long history of being disturbed and destroyed by humans due to their coastal realestate. While there has been improvement, this destruction continues today. Read on for updates and information on the mangroves of FNQ. |