Wonders of Nature

Friday, February 23, 2007

Learning Points during Sungei Buloh Trip

Thank you for visiting the blog! In the previous posts, you had learnt many facts of the mangroves. Congratulations in completing these posts. To reward you, we will be bringing you to Sungei Buloh, the only Mangrove Reserve and the largest mangrove area in Singapore! :)
Sit Back, Hang On Tight, We'll be travelling to Sungei Buloh in another few scrolls down!

Sungei Buloh, here we COME!!!!
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WELCOME to Sungei Buloh! Please flash your admission ticket!

Sungei Buloh is one of the last few mangroves in Singapore. Even though Sungei Buloh is known as Wetland Reserve, human activities had made its way and affected the original mangrove. The area used to be prawn farms parts of the mangrove were cleared to build ponds. Later, the government resettled the farmers and Sungei Buloh was declared a Nature Reserve.

Refer to map:

Today, we'll take a walk at the Mangroves Broadwalk, getting to see all the plants from the inner land to the outer areas. Spot creatures living in the mangrove, be it the mudskipper, the migratory birds or even the hard to find kingfisher.

Trees found in mangrove have to be salt tolerant as they will be submerged in sea water at least twice per day. They have to cope with both salt and fresh water. These plants are called halophytes.

The plants have special adaptations to absorb water. All plants will absorb saltwater, however, some will store the salt while others excrete salt.

By storing salt, the salt concentration in the plant is higher than that of the water. Osmosis will then be made easier. This means that water molecules will then move into the plants quickly so that the amount of salt in the plant and water can be balanced.

When there is too much of salt, some plants do excrete the salt through the leaves while other plants will shed their leaves.

The soil in the mangroves consist of silt and clay. It is soft and the oxygen level in the mud is low, thus the roots of plants growing in the mangrove habitat have special adaptations to breathe and to support itself firmly to the ground. The roots can be classified into:

AERIAL ROOTS
A few hours of breathing each day is sufficient for the plants to grow.

PROP ROOTS

KNEED ROOTS

Not all species of plants can be found in the entire area. Some prefer more freshwater to salt water, others prefer more salt water to freshwater. Even though these plants grow in salt water, they are also able to grow well without any salt water. Take the Sea Hibiscus for example. The Sea Hibiscus prefers more freshwater to salt water. It can only be found in the inland zone where little or no sea water is able to reach.

The fruits of most mangrove tress are buoyant. They will be able to float and be carried away when it's time for dispersal. That is why, the same type of mangrove species in Singapore, can be found in other places in the world as long as the conditions are suitable for the fruit to germinate. However, some of the fruits have sharp tips which will help it to anchor itself firmly into the soil to allow germination to begin. However, fruits with sharp tips may have a disadvantage. When being dispersed, the fruit may anchor itself near the mother plant and thus the 2 plants will then compete with each other.

Flowers of mangrove trees are brightly coloured. The bright colours are to attract insects to pollinate its flowers.

be kind! 2/23/2007 08:49:00 PM

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