Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves
Encyclopedia
The Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves are a large mangrove
ecoregion
on the Arabian Sea
coast of India
and Pakistan
.
delta on the Arabian sea, an even saltier estuary than usual due to the salts brought to the coast by the Indus from the Thar Desert
, a process that is ongoing as the river is increasingly used for irrigation and water supply. Mangroves are an important habitat where salt and fresh water mix and support a range of plants specialised to survive in this salty environment, and large numbers of fishes and crustaceans that find food, shelter and oxygen in the waters beneath the tree roots. The climate is hot.
s.
is a threat to habitats in the delta, as is depletion of the Indus as water is extracted. Most of the Indus delta mangroves have been cleared for firewood and to create grazing land but some remains in three protected areas: Marho Kotri, Cut Munarki Chach Wildlife Sanctuaries and Mirpur Sakro Game Reserve.
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
on the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
coast of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Location and description
These mangroves are found in the Indus RiverIndus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
delta on the Arabian sea, an even saltier estuary than usual due to the salts brought to the coast by the Indus from the Thar Desert
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...
, a process that is ongoing as the river is increasingly used for irrigation and water supply. Mangroves are an important habitat where salt and fresh water mix and support a range of plants specialised to survive in this salty environment, and large numbers of fishes and crustaceans that find food, shelter and oxygen in the waters beneath the tree roots. The climate is hot.
Flora
Mangroves forests have a thick canopy and an undergrowth mainly of saplings of the mangrove trees.Fauna
The mangroves are especially important as a sheltered haven where fish, crustaceans and invertebrates can reproduce. They are also home to large numbers of seabirds. Mammals of the delta include Fishing CatFishing Cat
The Fishing Cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. In 2008, the IUCN classified the fishing cat as endangered since they are concentrated primarily in wetland habitats, which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted...
s.
Threats and preservation
Pollution from the industrial city and port of KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
is a threat to habitats in the delta, as is depletion of the Indus as water is extracted. Most of the Indus delta mangroves have been cleared for firewood and to create grazing land but some remains in three protected areas: Marho Kotri, Cut Munarki Chach Wildlife Sanctuaries and Mirpur Sakro Game Reserve.