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Year 7

Mangroves: forests of the seas

I can describe the role of mangrove forests and talk about the impact of forest loss in the Sundarbans.

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New
New
Year 7

Mangroves: forests of the seas

I can describe the role of mangrove forests and talk about the impact of forest loss in the Sundarbans.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mangroves are shrubs and trees which grow in coastal waters.
  2. Mangroves help protect the land from flooding, caused by tropical storms and tidal surges.
  3. The Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh are an example of a mangrove forest.
  4. Mangroves face a variety of threats including coastal developments, farming and sea level rise.
  5. The impacts of mangrove loss include: coastal flooding, loss of biodiversity, resources and income.

Keywords

  • Tide - the regular rise and fall of sea levels caused by gravity from the moon and the sun pulling on Earth’s oceans

  • Tropical storm - a powerful low-pressure weather system that forms in tropical regions

  • Tidal surge - an unusual rise in sea level above the normal level of high tide

  • Urbanisation - the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities rather than the countryside

  • Biodiversity - all the living things in an ecosystem or area

Common misconception

Removing mangroves on the coast will not affect people inland or out at sea.

Mangroves provide many services, including flood protection for settlements inland and nurseries for young fish (who may be caught for food when they have grown and left the protection of the mangroves).


To help you plan your year 7 geography lesson on: Mangroves: forests of the seas, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

There is potential for students to research the actions people are taking to protect the mangroves as homework.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the term with its definition.
Correct Answer:Biome,A large area that is defined by its climate, plants and animals.
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A large area that is defined by its climate, plants and animals.

Correct Answer:Ecosystem,A specific place where an organism or a community of organisms lives.
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A specific place where an organism or a community of organisms lives.

Correct Answer:Habitat,A community of living organisms and their physical environment.
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A community of living organisms and their physical environment.

Q2.
What are mangroves?
A type of fish
Correct answer: A group of trees that grow in coastal areas
A kind of coral reef
A type of seaweed
Q3.
The is an imaginary line that circles Earth, dividing it into two halves: the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
Correct Answer: Equator
Q4.
Mangrove forests are located in tropical and sub-tropical areas. The tropics are called ...
Correct answer: the Tropic of Cancer
the Tropic of Leo
Correct answer: the Tropic of Capricorn
the Tropic of Scorpio
Q5.
How do mangrove trees help fish and other marine life?
Correct answer: By creating a safe space for baby fish to grow
By producing food for the fish
By attracting seaweed for fish to eat
Q6.
Which of these is a threat to mangrove forests?
Correct answer: Deforestation
Earthquakes
Snowstorms

4 Questions

Q1.
Why are mangrove forests sometimes called "forests of the seas"?
Because they are completely underwater
Correct answer: Because they grow along coastlines and connect the land to the sea
Because they only grow in the open ocean
Because they are made of seaweed and coral
Q2.
What benefits do mangroves provide?
Correct answer: Provide coastal flood protection
Correct answer: Act as a safe nursery for marine species
Correct answer: Provide resources for coastal communities
Reduce the effect of earthquakes
Produce greenhouse gasses
Q3.
Mangrove forests are at particular risk from ...
Correct answer: coastal development
Correct answer: farming
avalanches
Correct answer: sea level rise
mining
Q4.
Mangroves grow at the coast in some tropical and subtropical regions and need warm waters to survive. Most of the world's mangrove forests are located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of .
Correct Answer: Capricorn