Mangrove Guidebook for Southeast Asia

This book represents our first attempt to classify all mangrove species in Southeast Asia. It also aims to serve as a guidebook for those involved in the management and conservation of mangroves in Southeast Asia.

Various guidebooks exist for mangroves of Southeast Asia, but all have a limited geographic scope covering only one country. An even more severe limitation of these guidebooks is that they focus almost exclusively on so-called “true mangrove species” – i.e. species that occur in the mangrove habitat only and are not found in other habitats.

While this is an approach that is common worldwide, the disadvantage is that many plant species found in the mangrove habitat are not dealt with. Another disadvantage of most existing guidebooks is that they tend to ignore species other than trees and shrubs.

This book represents the first attempt at covering all mangrove plant species in Southeast Asia, and aims at providing those involved with the management and conservation of mangroves in Southeast Asia with a guidebook for identifying mangrove plants. At the same time, the book gives a brief introduction to mangroves in general and Southeast Asia’s mangroves in particular, useful to students and interested lay persons.

Accordingly, the book has been split into two parts: part one deals with the mangrove habitat in Southeast Asia, while part two focuses on the mangrove plants themselves. The core of the book is formed by the skilfully drawn black-and-white drawings of the mangrove plants. These illustrations greatly enhance the usefulness of this book.

Download online at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ag132e/