Mangroves are found in the far north near Diégo-Suarez and then continue till south of Morombe, almost exclusively on the western coast, they are found on saline alluvial soils directly exposed to the tides. The main species are: Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Ceriops tagal (Ceriops boviniana), Avicennia officinalis and Sonneratia alba. These species are often mixed with Heritiera littoralis, Terminalia catappa, Thespesia populnea, Derris uliginosa and, on the edge of these stands, Casuarina equisetifolia, as well as a large fern, Acrostichum aureum. The largest stand is found along the Betsiboka estuary. Mangroves are of considerable economic value and extensively exploited for tannin bark from the Rhizophora, Ceriops and Bruguiera genera, and firewood, since they easily regenerating under normal conditions. Typha angustifolia and the fern Acrostichum aureum proliferate on calcareous ground.
FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical forest resources assessment project. Forest resources of tropical Africa. Part II: Country Briefs FAO, UNEP. 586 pp..
Year |
Area |
Source |
Trend |
Methodology/Comments |
1921 |
400 000 |
Perrier de la Bathie. 1921. La végétation malgache. Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, 3e sér., 9: 1-268. |
X |
Cited in: Rasolofo, V.M. 1993. Mangrove of Madagascar. In: Diop, E.S., 1993. Conservation and sustainable utilization of mangrove forests in Latin America and Africa regions, Part II - Africa. p. 245-261. Mangrove Ecosystems Technical Reports vol.3 ITTO/ISME Project PD114/90. Okinawa, Japan, ISME. 262 pp. |
1955 |
350 000 |
Humbert, H. 1965. Notice de la carte internationale du tapis vegétal: Madagascar. Etat des travaux de la section scientifique et technique de l'institut francais de Pondichery - Hors serie No. 6 Toulouse - France |
X |
Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resources Assessment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Africa. Part II: Country Briefs FAO, UNEP 586pp. |
1959 |
217 000 |
Gachet. 1959. Les palétuviers de Madagascar. Bulletin de Madagascar n 153. |
Cited in Rasolofo, V.M. 1993. Mangrove of Madagascar. In: Diop, E.S., 1993. Conservation and sustainable utilization of mangrove forests in Latin America and Africa regions, Part II - Africa. p. 245-261. Mangrove Ecosystems Technical Reports vol.3 ITTO/ISME Project PD114/90. Okinawa, Japan, ISME. 262 pp. Doute, R.N. Ochanda & H. Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The “Year” is the publication year | |
1966 |
327 000 |
Kiener. 1966. Contribution à l'étude écologique et biologique des eaux saumâtres malgaches. Vie et milieu, pp 1013-1149 |
X |
Cited in Rasolofo, V.M. 1993. Mangrove of Madagascar. In: Diop, E.S., 1993. Conservation and sustainable utilization of mangrove forests in Latin America and Africa regions, Part II - Africa. p. 245-261. Mangrove Ecosystems Technical Reports vol.3 ITTO/ISME Project PD114/90. Okinawa, Japan, ISME. 262 pp. |
1972 |
340 300 |
Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp. |
Map analysis. Scale 1:1 000 000 | |
1980 |
300 000 |
FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resources Assessment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Africa. Part II: Country Briefs FAO, UNEP 586pp. |
Estimation based on updating of Humbert, 1965 (see above). | |
1981 |
339 900 |
Faramala, M.H. 1981. Etude de la végétation de Madagascar à l’aide de données spatiales. PhD Thesis, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. |
Cited in: Mayaux P., Gond V. and Bartholomé E. 2000 Mapping the Forest-Cover of Madagascar with SPOT 4-VEGETATION data. Global Vegetation Monitoring Unit - Space Applications Institute. Ispra (VA) – Italy http://vegetation.cnes.fr/vgtprep/vgt2000/mayaux.pdf The figure reported in the document is 3,399,103 ha. Presumably this is a typographical error. | |
1983 |
320 700 |
Saenger, P., Hegerl E.J. and J.D.S., Davie. 1983. Global status of mangrove ecosystems. Commission on Ecology Papers No.3. IUCN. Gland, Switzerland. 88 pp. |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year | |
1983 |
320 000 |
Wacharakitty, S. 1983. Mangrove Ecosystem in General. In: ESCAP/UNESCO/NRCT Regional Remote Sensing Training Course of Mangrove Ecosystem. p. 22-33. Bangkok, Nov. 28-Dec. 16 1983 |
Cited in: FAO, 1988. Manual on mapping and inventory of mangroves. Benessalah, D., ed. FAO Rome, 123 pp. | |
1987 |
325 560 |
Commission of the European Communities. 1987. Mangroves of Africa and Madagascar. Conservation and reclamation: The Mangroves of Madagascar. CML, Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Leyden, 24 pp. |
X |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year |
1990 |
429 815 |
Lebigre, J-M. 1990. Les marais maritimes du Gabon et de Madagascar. Thèse de Doctorat d'État. Institut de Géographie, Université de Bordeaux III. |
Cited in: Kelleher, G., Bleakley, C. and Wells, S. 1995. A global representative system of marine protected areas. Vol.II-III-IV Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, IBRD, The World Bank, IUCN. IBRD | |
1992 |
332 000 |
Kelleher, G., Bleakley, C. and Wells, S. 1995. A global representative system of marine protected areas. Vol.II-III-IV Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, IBRD, The World Bank, IUCN. IBRD |
Based on CEC 1992. No complete reference provided. | |
1992 |
330 000 |
Hughes, R.H. and Hughes, J.S. 1992. A Directory of African Wetlands. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya/WCMC, Cambridge, UK. 820 pp. |
Analysis of maps and/or remote sensing imageries. No specific scale is given. The "Year" is the publication year. | |
1999 |
453 000 |
Mayaux P., Gond V. and Bartholomé E. 2000. Mapping the Forest-Cover of Madagascar with SPOT 4-VEGETATION data. |
Remote sensing. The figure reported in the document is 4,530,103 ha. Presumably this is a typographical error |
