The Myanmar Coast mangroves fringe the eastern rim of the Bay of Bengal, spanning Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia, with the richest concentrations in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta and the Rakhine and Tanintharyi coasts. These tidal forests are dominated by classic Indo-Pacific mangrove genera such as Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Sonneratia, Avicennia, and Xylocarpus, alongside the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) and the mangrove date palm (Phoenix paludosa). The setting is built on alluvial silt deposited by the Ayeyarwady, one of the world's most sediment-laden rivers, whose delta is composed largely of washed-down alluvium. Notably, the ecoregion holds one of the highest mangrove-tree species richnesses of any mangrove region in the Indian Ocean and serves as habitat for the critically endangered four-toed terrapin (Batagur baska), its flagship species. It is also one of Asia's most depleted mangrove areas, heavily reduced by logging and conversion to agriculture, making the surviving forests a conservation priority. For gardeners, the palms native here, the nipa and the mangrove date palm, are striking tropical, salt- and water-tolerant ornamentals.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.2°N, 95.4°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.9°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Mangroves
Realm
Indomalayan
Approximate area
8,249 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the mangroves biome
Coastal tidal forests of salt-tolerant trees rooted in sheltered estuaries and shorelines of the tropics and subtropics. Mangroves buffer coasts from storms, store large amounts of carbon, and serve as nurseries for fish and shellfish.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Currently suited · 4
These plants fit the ecoregion as it is today, but the mid-century projection moves them outside their stated zone range — plan for them to struggle by 2070.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.