FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 27, 2014
GTM RESEARCH
RESERVE MARINELAND HOSTS MANGROVE WORKSHOP
~'Living with Mangroves' educates residents on mangroves and their regulations~
PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Today, the GTM
Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Northeast District educated more than 25 people during the free workshop, “Living
with Mangroves,” held at the Marineland Field Office.
Janice
Price, an environmental specialist with DEP's Northeast District, informed participants on the state regulations regarding mangroves. David Lubinski, environmental specialist with DEP's Northeast District, provided information
about mangrove identification and their ecological importance. Danny Lippi, a tree preservation specialist with Advanced Tree Care, Inc., instructed attendees on how to properly trim mangroves.
"This type of workshop provides an opportunity to
educate residents about mangroves and regulations associated with them,"
said Michael Shirley, Ph.D., director of the GTM Research Reserve.
"As mangroves spread into our regions, it's important to know how to trim
and alter these protected plants."
By
filtering sediments and nutrients out of upland runoff, mangroves help maintain
coastal water quality. Adjacent seagrass beds and coral reefs are dependent on
this buffering capacity to maintain the low-nutrient, clear water they require.
Mangrove roots also trap sediments and form peat, which stabilizes the
shoreline.
The
mangrove and saltmarsh ecotone, where mangroves and saltmarsh species coexist,
is currently along the Atlantic Coast of Florida between St. Augustine and
Cocoa Beach. To the south of Cocoa Beach, mangrove forests dominate and
saltmarsh species only occur in small isolated pockets. North of the ecotone,
coastal wetlands are dominated by saltmarshes.
The
most common mangrove along the northern region of Florida’s coast is Avicennia
germinans (black mangrove), but all three species can be found in this
ecotone. Further south from St. Augustine, Rhizophora mangle (red
mangrove) and Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove) show up in
increasing numbers.
“Mangroves
provide beneficial functions that ensure a healthy coastal environment and
natural shoreline protection. The Northeast District staff has developed a
practical training program that promotes compliance with DEP’s requirements for
the alteration and trimming of mangroves,” said Greg Strong, director of DEP’s
Northeast District. “Every waterfront homeowner and landscape professional who deals with mangroves should attend this training to become familiar with how to
properly maintain them to preserve a valuable natural resource for our state.”
For more information on mangroves, click here.
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