Mangroves in the Northern Territory - Department of Land Resource ...

Mangroves in Australia
Australia’s coastline has vast tracts of mangroves. The highest levels of species
diversity can be found on the northern and northeastern coastlines. The greatest
concentration is along the tropical northeastern coast from Mackay to Cape York. The
tallest, most extensive forests are situated along the north coast of Queensland
(Claridge & Burnett 1993).
The western coast has a reduced number of mangrove species, compared to the
eastern coast. This is mainly due to seasonal aridity of the western coast and a limited
presence of estuaries and embayments to accommodate mangrove communities
(Claridge & Burnett 1993).
Mangroves do occur as far south as Victoria and South Australia, although these
communities are almost limited to stunted Avicennia marina and only in those areas
that are predominantly frost-free. No mangroves occur in Tasmania (Claridge &
Burnett 1993).
Mangroves in the Northern Territory
Mangroves in the Northern Territory cover approximately 4 120 km 2 of 10,953
kilometres of Northern Territory coastline and river systems, incorporating both
mainland mangrove communities and islands off the Northern Territory coastline.
This area represents more or less 35% of the 11,600 km 2 of mangroves found
throughout Australia (Wightman 1983).
The mangrove stands in the Northern Territory contrast significantly in stand,
structure and species diversity. Extensive stands of mangroves are located along the
northern coasts of Arnhem Land, in Darwin Harbour and on Bathurst and Melville
Islands. Isolated pockets can occur within any number of small embayments or
surrounding small coastal estuaries (Wightman 1983).
Mangroves in Darwin Harbour
The mangrove communities of Darwin Harbour are a significant natural resource both
locally and globally. The mangroves in the harbour are amongst the most diverse in
Australia. Approximately 50 species are regarded as ‘mangroves’ worldwide, 36 of
these occur naturally in Darwin Harbour. The largely undisturbed tracts of mangroves
occupy an area of approximately 20,400 hectares (Approx. 5% of the NT’s and 0.1%
of remaining world mangrove area) (Brocklehurst & Edmeades 1996)
Northern Territory Mangrove Education Kit
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