Abstract
There is a wide diversity of flora which occupies different tropical coastal ecosystems in the tropics and performs certain important ecological functions. They provide environmental services to man in the form of buffer zones against storm surges, reduced beach erosion, and recreation areas, among others. Some of these plants are also used in ethnomedicinal practices by the local people. However, coastal ecosystems particularly mangroves, wetlands, corals, sand dunes, and marshes are severely threatened all over the tropics by human activities due to their location near the ocean, ideal spots for tourism, their resource endowments, and over-exploitations. Therefore documenting and understanding different flora of coastal ecosystems, their ecological importance, and economic significance that inhabit these regions are extremely important for their judicious use and conservation. Our aim in this chapter is to describe what we know about various aspects of the vegetation of these tropical coastal areas. We also discuss variations in species diversity, number, and extent across different tropical coastal countries and their significance particularly mangroves, sand dune, and marshy vegetations.
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Ayyam, V., Palanivel, S., Chandrakasan, S. (2019). Coastal Floral Diversity and Its Significance. In: Coastal Ecosystems of the Tropics - Adaptive Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8926-9_4
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