Mangrove ecosystems are typical formations found in coastal deposits of mud and silt throughout the tropics and some distance into the subtropical latitudes. The total wordwide mangrove area, which is estimated at about 170,000 km2 with some sixty species of trees and shrubs exclusive to the habitat, dominates approximately 75% of the world's coastline between latitudes 25°N and 25°S. Such unique intertidal ecosystems support genetically diverse communities of terrestrial and aquatic organisms that are of direct or indirect socioeconomic values. Mangrove forests play important roles as coastal stabilization and protection against winds and storms; producers of nutrients, forest resources and animal species of economic importance. Recently, the issues on the conservation, proper utilization and management of mangrove forests have been widely discussed. Unfortunately, overexploitation and destruction of mangroves seriously threatens the sustainability of such a unique ecosystem. This volume includes papers on three main areas: recent advances in mangrove ecology; application and utilization of mangrove resources; and conservation and management of the ecosystems.

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Thermo-osmotic gas supply not detected in Avicennia marina seedlings; N.J. Skelton, W.G. Allaway. There is a continuum of gas space in young plants of Avicennia marina; A.E. Ashford, W.G. Allway. Diurnal gas exchange characteristics and water use efficiency of three salt secreting mangroves at low and high salinities; G. Naidoo, D.J. von Willert. Ventilation and respiration in roots of one-year-old seedlings of grey mangrove Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh.; M.J. Hovenden, M. Curran, M.A. Cole, P.F.E. Goulter, N.J. Skelton, W.G. Allaway. Transport of sediment in mangrove swamps; E. Wolanski. Mangroves and climate change in the Florida and Caribbean regions: scenarios and hypotheses; S.C. Snedaker. Tidal asymmetry in mangrove creeks; Y. Mazda, N. Kanazawa, E. Wolanski. Ecographic variation in Kandelia candel from Brunei, Hong Kong and Thailand; G.S. Maxwell. Microgeographic genetic structure of the fiddler crab, Uca arcuata De Haan (Ocypodidae) in Taiwan; S. Huang, J.-T. Smith. Impact of expected climate change on mangroves; C.D. Field. The population dynamics of the mangrove Avicennia marina; demographic synthesis and predictive modelling; P.J. Clarke. Lower marine fungi (labyrinthulomycetes) and the decay of mangrove leaf litter; G.B. Bremer. Frequency of occurrence of fungi on wood in Malaysian mangroves; S.A. Alias, A.J. Kuthubutheen, E.B.G. Jones. Ecology of mangrove fungi and their role in nutrient cycling: what gaps occur in our knowledge? K.D. Hyde, S.Y. Lee. Observations on vertical distribution of fungi associated with standing senescent Acanthus ilicifolius stems at Mai Po Mangrove, Hong Kong; R.B. Sadaba, L.L.P. Vrijmoed, E.B.G. Jones, I.J. Hodgkiss. Substrate type and microbial interactions as factors affecting asocarp formation by mangrove fungi; T.K. Tan, C.L. Teng, E.B.G. Jones. Continental scale patterns in mangrove litter fall; J.S. Bunt. The growth performances of two mangrove crabs, Chiromanthes bidens and Parasesarma plicata under different leaf litter diets; P.W. Kwok, S.Y. Lee. Nutrients and heavy metal contamination of plants and sediments in Futian mangrove forest; N.F.Y. Tam, S.H. Li, C.Y. Lan, G.Z. Chen, M.S. Li, Y.S. Wong. Forest structure and biomass of mangroves in the Mgeni estuary, South Africa; T.D. Steinke, C.J. Ward, A. Rajh. Genetic diversity, distributional barriers and rafting continents -- more thoughts on the evolution of mangroves; N.C. Duke. Temporal distribution and abundance of shrimp postlarvae and juveniles in the mangroves of Muthupet, Tamilnadu, India; R. Mohan, V. Selvam, J. Azariah. Community structure and standing crop biomass of a mangrove forest in Futian Nature Reserve, Shenzhen, China; N.F.Y. Tam, Y.S. Wong, C.Y. Lan, G.Z. Chen. Mangrove outwelling: a review; S.Y. Lee. An ecological study on the Mollusca in mangrove areas in the estuary of the Jiulong River; J.X. Jiang, R.G. Li. The temporal changes in benthic abundances and sediment nutrients in a mudflat of the Chuwei Mangrove Forest, Taiwan; C.I-Jiunn. Mangrove soils as sinks for wastewater-borne pollutants; N.F.Y. Tam, Y.S. Wong. Effect of wastewater discharge on nutrient contamination of mangrove soils and plants; Y.S. Wong, C.Y. Lan, G.Z. Chen, S.H. Li, X.R. Chen, Z.P. Liu, N.F.Y. Tam. The use of demographic studies in mangrove silviculture; G.W. Khoon, O.Jin-Eong. Effect of synthetic wastewater on young Kandelia candel plants growing under greenhouse conditions; G.Z. Chen, S.Y. Miao, N.F.Y. Tam, Y