The roadway separates two unique ecosystems on the approach to Jubail Mangrove Park, north of Abu Dhabi city.

Cacti, ghaf trees, and desert plants are spread across dry soil on one side, some withered, with dust blowing around them - a typical image in an arid region.

However, you'll notice clusters of strong, robust mangrove trees along the shore, half-submerged in the saline seas and reaching into the Persian Gulf. An oil-rich area has sprouted a green paradise.

Desert Mangrove

(Photo : Photo by Timothy K on Unsplash)
Mangrove forest located in the Mida Creek - Malindi

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Mangroves and deserts may not seem like a natural match, but mangroves dominate the Arabian Peninsula's coastal vegetation.

The grey mangrove, or Avicennia marina, is the dominant species in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a carpet of wiry breathing roots around each tree. High temperatures and salt don't bother this resistant plant.

About 70% of the UAE's mangroves are found in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to rise. The UAE vowed to plant 100 million extra mangrove trees by 2030 during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last year to absorb more planet-warming carbon dioxide and protect against sea-level rise.

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UN Reference

Reforestation was mentioned by the United Nations' top climate research agency last week as a technique to help control greenhouse gas emissions and assist humanity in avoiding a more severe climate change effect.

Mangroves cover roughly 180 square kilometers in the UAE, capturing 43,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. By planting 100 million extra trees, the area covered would nearly treble to 483 square kilometers.

Mr. Fawaz Chehab, 42, lead ranger of Jubail Mangrove Park, calls the Avicennia marina the "tree of giving."

"By filtering the water and the air, it removes all the bad things and gives us all the good ones."

Photosynthesis

By photosynthesis, mangroves take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and retain it in their leaves, branches, and roots, converting it to blue carbon, plentiful in the soil and underground.

The carbon stored up in marine ecosystems like mangroves and seagrass meadows is blue. Mangroves may absorb three to four times as much carbon as land-based forests.

Jubail Mangrove Park also serves as a nursery for juvenile fish, protecting them from predators at sea. Flamingos can be seen on the fringes of the mangroves at times.

Challenges

It is difficult for the mangrove population to renew and reproduce organically, according to Mr. Fawaz.

Only 5% of the falling pod-like seedlings will take root and thrive throughout the fruiting season. At the same time, the remainder would be carried away by the waves or devoured by mangrove crabs, he noted, necessitating human-assisted planting.

Mr. Fawaz works for Quest for Adventure, an outdoor recreation company that vowed to plant 50,000 mangrove plants around the UAE to commemorate the UAE's golden jubilee earlier this year.

The first step in the planting procedure is to harvest germinated seeds from trees before they fall. The seeds will be kept in freshwater until they break open and sprout into seedlings. Nurseries will be used to cultivate the seedlings that were planted.

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