Growing on the Edge

Book excerpt: Addressing the hydraulic structure of mangrove trees to gain knowledge about the way they successfully respond to the unique environmental demands of intertidal areas, this study explores the challenging field of ecological wood anatomy and the quest to discover how trees adapt their cellular make-up for survival under ambient and site-specific conditions. Divided into three parts, this accessible reference highlights the structure of the wood and the formation and implications of the wood’s hydraulic architecture and discusses the unpredictable growth patterns of mangrove trees.