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Overview of the Biogeochemical Controls and Concerns with Trace Metal Accumulation in Mangrove Sediments

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Part of the book series: Environmental Science ((ENVSCIENCE))

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystems are coastal environments characterised by a cover of woody plants able to inhabit intertidal zones, mainly in tropical regions. Mangrove forests usually occur on soft sediments of areas protected from strong wave action, where they may present large biological productivity and contribute to the support of food chains associated with the maintenance of important estuarine fisheries (Lugo et al. 1988). These ecosystems have considerable influence on the transport of materials across the interface between terrestrial and coastal areas, commonly receiving and trapping potentially deleterious anthropogenic contaminants, e.g. trace metals, within its sediments (Peters et al. 1997). Although the elevated accumulation of anthropogenic metals in mangrove environments may cause negative impacts on plants (MacFarlane 2002; MacFarlane and Burchett 2002; Melville and Burchett 2002) and animals (Zanders and Rojas 1996; Harris and Santos 2000; MacFarlane et al. 2000), the retention of such elements within mangrove sediments may contribute to the reduction of the metal transfer to adjacent coastal areas (Lacerda 1998). This indicates that such ecosystems can provide direct and indirect environmental and socioeconomic benefits associated with the preservation of water resource quality in many tropical and some subtropical areas.

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Machado, W., Lacerda, L.D. (2004). Overview of the Biogeochemical Controls and Concerns with Trace Metal Accumulation in Mangrove Sediments. In: Drude de Lacerda, L., Santelli, R.E., Duursma, E.K., Abrão, J.J. (eds) Environmental Geochemistry in Tropical and Subtropical Environments. Environmental Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-07060-4_22

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