Michelly About Part 1

Mangrove forests are important for storm surge protection in Florida. They have prop roots that slow down water flow and erosion during hurricanes. They also filter out salt and pollutants from seawater, benefitting both humans and wildlife. Mangroves serve as breeding grounds for fish, which supports the fishing industry in Florida. Hey Casey, I absolutely can give you everything you need to know about the importance of these mangrove forests. Let me start with the most obvious one that benefits the people of Florida, and that would be storm surge protection. Florida is no stranger to hurricanes. While we were conducting our research, we recently were affected by Hurricane Ian. This hurricane caused major flash floods and catastrophic destruction. Some would agree that if we had mangroves, it wouldn't have been that bad. Mangrove forests can help us protect from hurricanes like Ian. They have pneumatophores and prop roots that are reddish, tangled, and aerial, which anchor down into the ground, reducing water flow and erosion. With these prop roots, mangrove forests act like a natural barrier that heavily slows down even some of the strongest of storms that Florida has had to face. Now of course, with big storms comes an influx of seawater. Mangrove forests come in handy once again because they can filter out about 90% of the salt and pollutants that come from seawater through their roots. Salt can also be excreted through glands in their waxy leaves, forming a dried salt crystal on top of them. If you were to lick a mangrove forest leaf, it would actually taste salty. However, they serve economic values to humans as well. Mangrove forests act as a nursery for wildlife. They are breeding and breeding grounds for different species of fish and wildlife. Well, humans, especially us Floridians, love to eat those delicious fish, like shrimp, that hang out and live in these mangroves. Now you're probably thinking, eh, whatever, probably a small industry probably doesn't mean much. But, you know, we're not that small.