Whenever I look at mangrove roots, especially those of the genus Rhizophora, I always imagine them as feet stepping in all directions around the plant. The legs, although looking pliable, but so strong, go plunging down to get to the substrate even in the water. The roots make the plants erect and sturdy, and when the mangroves appear simultaneously on the shore, they appear as a line of bodyguards standing tightly protecting the coast from the waves and storms, something which is certainly not easy for them to deal with.
It is amazing what mangrove roots do. Mangrove roots sticking out of the stems and branches, or what are known as "Stilt Roots", are to support the stem as well as to ensure space for growth. The roots with their large amount of lenticels allow gas exchange in oxygen-poor soil. In other words, they are air roots.
They are also protectors for a variety of rich estuary biota, which are protected in a stilt roots system. They protect the animals from predators and provide them with the perfect place for breeding so that the roots contribute an impressive service to their environment. And what amazes me even more is that these roots are not only protective of the land, but actually they play a role in creating the land because they bind and accumulate sediments, especially the biomass produced by the mangroves themselves. A work of heroism continually done in silence on the coast!
