Mangroves are found only around Veal Renh and Kompong Som Bays and north of Kas Kong up to the border with Thailand, and only in residual form as narrow, broken strips that eventually may continue fairly far up the water courses. The main species are Rhizophora conjugata, R. mucronata, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, B. sexangula, Ceriops tagal, C. decandra, Sonneratia alba, Lumnitzera littorea, L. racemosa and Xylocarpus obovata (syn Carapa obovata). Phoenix paludosa, an elegant, short-stemmed (3 to 8 m) palm is often found in clumps. The trees size is between 10 and 15 m tall in average, while the shrubs, much more numerous, are between 5 and 10 m. When the land rises fairly sharply so that it is very often above the flood water, the mangroves degenerate into a thicket, generally of Rhizophora conjugata between 2 and 3 m tall and with a thick tangle of aerial roots, and in certain places also Bruguiera gymnorhiza. There is no herbaceous layer, and the soil is blackish, very moist and criss-crossed by a mesh of fine roots. Mangroves continue to provide firewood and wood charcoal, but in smaller quantities than in the past. Stands of Melaleuca leucadendron can reach as far as the sea, in pure formations or mixed with Casuarina equisetifolia. This species grows best in the hinterland of the mangrove swamps, where the water is almost always fresh, with salt water penetrating only at spring tides. It grows here mixed with some mangrove species like Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Excoecaria agallocha, Nipa fruticans and associated species that can tolerate very slightly salt water, such as Melastoma villesum, Barringtonia spp., and Hibiscus tiliaceus, but Melaleuca leucadendron is by far the major component of these stands.
FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp.
Year |
Area |
Source |
Trend |
Methodology/Comments |
1950 |
100 700 |
BIMS (Biodiverity Information Management System). 1997. Indo-Malayan Realm Study Final report. |
X |
Original data, no specific methodology described |
1975 |
94 600 |
The Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO. 1994. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. 1985/87 - 1992/1993. Remote sensing & Mapping unit, Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO, Cambodia 124 pp |
X |
Remote sensing (including national and provincial statistics) |
1983 |
10 000 |
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. 1994. Mangrove forest management guidelines. FAO Forestry Paper 117. Rome, 319 pp. Possibly a typographical error. | |
1986 |
68 500 |
The Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO. 1994. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. 1985/87 - 1992/1993. Remote sensing & Mapping unit, Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO, Cambodia 124 pp. |
Remote sensing (including national and provincial statistics). | |
1989 |
60 100 |
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 1:500 000. According to the authors, the estimate of the Mekong Secretariat, 1994 (Ref. Year 1994, see below) is likely to be more accurate. | |
1993 |
77 669 |
Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Forest Wildlife Research and Education Institute. 1998. Forest Cover Statistic. |
Remote sensing | |
1994 |
85 100 |
The Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO. 1994. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. Cambodia Land Cover Atlas. 1985/87 - 1992/1993. Remote sensing & Mapping unit, Mekong Secretariat, UNDP, FAO, Cambodia 124 pp. |
X |
Remote sensing (including national and provincial statistics) |
1997 |
72 835 |
Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Forest Wildlife Research and Education Institute. 1998 Forest Cover Statistic. |
X |
Remote sensing |
The figures for 1980, 1990 and 2000 are based on trend analysis and expert estimate.
