of nutrients beneath forests. Although mangroves cover only 0.5% of the earth's coastal area, they account for 10–15% of the coastal sediment carbon storage and 10–11% of the total input of terrestrial carbon into oceans. The disproportionate contribution of mangroves to carbon sequestration is now perceived as an important means to counterbalance greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the ecological importance of mangrove ecosystem, knowledge on mangrove biodiversity is notably limited. Previous reports mainly investigated the biodiversity of mangrove fauna, flora and bacterial communities. Particularly, little information is available about viral communities and their roles in mangrove soil ecosystems. In view of the importance of viruses in structuring and regulating host communities and mediating element biogeochemical cycles, exploring viral communities in mangrove ecosystems is essential. Additionally, the intermittent flooding of sea water and resulting sharp transition of mangrove environments may result in substantially different genetic and functional diversity of bacterial and viral communities in mangrove soils compared with those of other systems. Genome sequencing Rhizophoreae as revealed by whole-genome sequencing See also Coastal management Mangrove swamp Mangrove restoration Salt marsh Longshore drift Coastal erosion Coastal geography Ecological values of mangrove Blue carbon Nursery habitat Foundation species Keystone species References Further reading Saenger, Peter (2002). Mangrove Ecology, Silviculture, and Conservation. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. . Thanikaimoni, Ganapathi (1986). Mangrove Palynology UNDP/UNESCO and the French Institute of Pondicherry, ISSN 0073-8336 (E). Tomlinson, Philip B. (1986). The Botany of Mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, . Teas, H. J. (1983). Biology and Ecology of Mangroves. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague. . Agrawala, Shardul; Hagestad; Marca; Koshy, Kayathu; Ota, Tomoko; Prasad, Biman; Risbey, James; Smith, Joel; Van Aalst, Maarten. 2003. Development and Climate Change in Fiji: Focus on Coastal Mangroves. Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, Cedex 16, France. Glenn, C. R. 2006. "Earth's Endangered Creatures" Twilley, R. R., V.H. Rivera-Monroy, E. Medina, A. Nyman, J. Foret, T. Mallach, and L. Botero. 2000. Patterns of forest development in mangroves along the San Juan River estuary, Venezuela. Forest Ecology and Management Spalding, Mark; Kainuma, Mami and Collins, Lorna (2010) World Atlas of Mangroves Earthscan, London, ; 60 maps showing worldwide mangrove distribution Warne, Kennedy (2013) Let them eat shrimp: the tragic disappearance of the rainforests of the sea. Island Press, 2012, External links Top 10 Mangrove Forest In The World – Travel Mate * In May 2011, the VOA Special English service of the Voice of America