Mangrove Species Distribution and Composition, Adaptive Strategies and Ecosystem Services in the Niger River Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

Mangroves of the Niger River Delta grade into several plant communities from land to sea. This mangrove is a biodiversity hot spot, and one of the richest in ecosystem services in the world, but due to lack of data it is often not mentioned in many global mangrove studies. Inland areas are sandy and mostly inhabited by button wood mangroves (Conocarpus erectus) and grass species while seaward areas are mostly inhabited by red (Rhizophora racemosa), black (Laguncularia racemosa) and white (Avicennia germinans) mangroves species. Anthropogenic activities such as oil and gas exploration, deforestation, dredging, urbanization and invasive nypa palms had changed the soil type from swampy to sandy mud soil. Muddy soil supports nypa palms while sandy soil supports different grass species, core mangrove soil supports red mangroves (R. racemosa), which are the most dominant of all species, with importance value (Iv) of 52.02. The red mangroves are adapted to the swampy soils. They possess long root system (i.e. 10 m) that originates from the tree stem to the ground, to provide extra support. The red mangrove trees are economically most viable as the main source of fire wood for cooking, medicinal herbs and dyes for clothes.