Mangrove Guardians

When waves from the December tsunami struck the 13-mile stretch of coastline in Tamil Nadu, India, they did so with uniform strength. Nearly 15-foot high walls of water slammed the beaches and coastal villages along the entire stretch. And yet, some villages only sustained minor damage and only in some parts while others were completely destroyed.

The difference? Mangrove forests growing along the coasts acted as a buffer against the fury of the wave, a new study reports.

Had the same stretch of coastline been subject to the worst of the tsunami, no amount of coastal vegetation would have protected it. But against the relatively mild waves like those that struck Tamil Nadu, it was enough.

The researchers warned that destroying or degrading mangrove forests could leave some coastlines more vulnerable to natural disasters like tsunamis. In places where mangrove forests can't grow, dune ecosystems and beach forests could serve the same purpose, the researchers wrote.

The study appeared in the October 28 issue of the journal Science.

--Ker Than

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Credit:  Science