Mangrove Ecosystem Components and Benefits

Abstract

There is a wide variety of plant, animal, and microbial life in mangrove forests because of their location at the boundary between terrestrial and marine environments. Because of their central role in the development and upkeep of the mangrove ecosystem, microbes also serve as a useful and significant source of biotechnologically engineered materials. Microbes are essential to the health of the mangrove ecosystem's productivity by aiding in the decomposition and mineralization of leaf litter at a number of different phases of the process. They are capable of recycling nutrients; they can generate or consume gases affecting the global climate; they can remove contaminants; they can process anthropogenic trash. Mangrove environment microorganisms provide a large supply of antimicrobial substances and also create a broad spectrum of major health-boosting chemicals such as enzymes, antitumors, insecticides and immune modulators. However, unlike other ecosystems, mangrove ecosystems have never had their microbial diversity described. Despite the rich diversity of microbiological conditions in mangrove ecosystems, only around 5 percent of species have been classified, and many of them remain enigmas in terms of their ecological importance and practical use. Microbial diversity must be fully utilised to reach its potential, and modern molecular biology and genetics technologies show considerable promise. This Chapter, therefore, attempts to examine and analyze the microbial diversity of mangrove ecosystems in many aspects, such as agricultural, pharmaceutical, industrial, environmental, and medical possibilities.