Abstract
Patterns of zonation and distribution of mangroves in relation to climate, hydrology and hydrographic factors are described. There are eight species of mangroves found along the semi-arid Kenyan coast where they may occur as creek or fringe mangroves. The climate along the Kenyan coastal belt is under the influence of two seasonal monsoonal winds, namely the South East Monsoon (SEM), which begins from April to October, and the North East Monsoon (NEM) from November to March. The rains are bimodal, the heaviest rainfall occurring in SEM (range 55 to 272mm) and the second peak may appear in NEM (range 8 to 84 mm). The ranges of temperatures in SEM and NEM are 20-31° C and 23-32° C, respectively. There are only two permanent rivers and a few seasonal rivers. However, there is considerable discharge of underground water to the sea floor which creates the brackish water conditions required by mangroves. Geographically the bulk of the mangrove forest cover is found far away from the permanent rivers and in some cases at places without any surface flow. The latter areas, however, correspond to the areas receiving heavy discharges of underground water. The range at the Kenyan coast is wide (4m), and it is therefore common to find zonation in creek mangrove. Based on the principal species, the mangrove zonation observed in an upward shore direction was as follows: Sonneratia alba J.Sm., Rhizophora mucronata Lam., Ceriops tagal (perr) C.B. Robinson, Avicennia marina (Forks.) Vierche and Lumnitzera racemosa Willd. However, Avicennia marina has the widest vertical distribution and almost exclusively occupies the salty flats.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Brakel, W.H. 1982. Tidal patterns of the East African coast and their implications for littoral biota. UNESCO/ALESCO Symposium on Coastal and Marine Environment of the Red Sea, Gulf of Eden and Tropical Western Indian Ocean. The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environmental Programme, Jeddah: Vol. 2, pp. 403–418.
Brusher, H.A. 1974. The magnitude, distribution and availability of prawn (Penaeidae) resources in coastal and availability of prawn (Penaeidae) resources in coastal and estuarine water of Kenya, 1970. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. India 16: 335–348.
Chapman, V.J. 1977. Introduction. In: V.J. Chapman (ed), Ecosystems of the World. Wet Coastal Ecosystems, Vol. 1, pp. 1–29. Elsevier Sci. Publ. Co., Amsterdam.
Coppejans, E. & Gallin, E. 1989. Macroalgae associated with mangrove vegetation of Gazi Bay (Kenya). Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belg. 122: 47–60.
Crame, J.A. 1980. Succession and diversity in the Pleistocene coral reefs of the Kenya coast. Palaontology 23(1): 1–37.
Crame, J.A. 1981. Ecological stratification in the Pleistocene coral reefs of the Kenya coast. Palaontology 24(3): 609–646.
Day, J.H. 1974. A guide to marine life on South African shores. Capetown: A.A. Balkema. 300pp.
Doute, R.N., Ochanda, N. & Epp, H. 1981. A forest inventory of Kenya using remote sensing techniques. KREMU, Technical Report, Series No. 30, Nairobi: Kenya Rangeland Ecological Monitoring Unit.
Field, C.D. & Dartnall, A.J. (eds). 1987. Mangrove Ecosystems of Asia and the Pacific: Status, Exploitation and Management. Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Townsville, Australia, 18-25 May 1985. Published by AIMS. 320pp.
Grove, S.J., Little, M.C. & Reay, P.J. 1986. Tudor Creek Mombasa: The early life-history stages offish and prawns 1985. O.D.A. Research Project R 3888. 133 pp.
Hamilton, H.G.H. & Brakel, W.H. 1984. Structure and coral fauna of East African reefs. Bull. Mar. Sci. 34: 248–266.
Hartnoll, R.G. 1975. The Grapsidae and Ocypodidae (Decapoda: Brachyura) of Tanzania. J. Zool., Lond. 177: 305–328.
Icely, J.D. & Jones, D.A. 1978. Factors affecting the distribution of the genus Uca (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) on an East African shore. Estuar. Coast. Mar. Sci. 6: 313–325.
Isaac, W.E. & Isaac, F.M. 1968. Marine botany of the Kenya coast. 3. General account of environmental flora and vegetation. J. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc. (Nairobi) 1(116): 7–27.
Ituli, J.T. 1984. A regional groundwater flow model for the Athi-Tana river basins. M.Sc. Thesis, Brussels: Free University Brussels.
Johnson, D.R., Nguli, M.M. & Kimani, E.J. 1982. Response to annually reversing monsoon winds at the southern boundary of the Somali current. Deep Sea Res. 29: 1217–1228.
Kenya Ports Authority, 1989. Tide tables for East African Ports. Rod-well Press Ltd., Mombasa. 48 pp.
Kokwaro, J.O. 1985. The distribution and economic importance of the mangrove forests of Kenya. J.E. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc. (Nairobi) 75: 1–10.
Macnae, W. 1968. A general account of the fauna and flora of mangrove swamps and forests in the Indo-West Pacific region. Adv. Mar. Biol. 73–270.
Macnae, W. 1971. Mangroves on Aldabra. Phil. Trans. R. Soc, Lond. B. 260: 237–247.
Macnae, W. & Kalk, M. 1962. The ecology of the mangrove swamps at Inhaca, Mozambique. J. Ecol. 50: 19–34.
Newell, B.S. 1957. A preliminary survey of the hydrography of the British East African coastal waters. Publs. Colon. Off. (London) 9: 1–2.
Odum, E.P. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Company. 574pp.
Ruwa, R.K. 1990. The effects of habitat complexities created by mangroves on macrofaunal composition in brackish-water intertidal zones at the Kenyan coast. Discovery and Innovation 2(1): 49–55.
Ruwa, R.K. & Polk, P. 1986. Additional information on mangrove distribution in Kenya: Some observations and remarks. Ken. J. Sci. (Nairobi) B7(2): 41–45.
Southwood, A.J. 1965. Life on the Seashore. Heinemann Educational Books, London. 153pp.
Wakwabi, E.O. 1988. The population dynamics and the fishery of penaeid prawns in Tudor Creek, Mombasa with special emphasis on Penaeus monodon Fabricius 1798. M.Sc. Thesis, Nairobi, University of Nairobi. 209 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ruwa, R.K. (1993). Zonation and distribution of creek and fringe mangroves in the semi-arid Kenyan coast. In: Lieth, H., Al Masoom, A.A. (eds) Towards the rational use of high salinity tolerant plants. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1858-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1858-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4821-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-1858-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive