A forest in the desert .. Mangroves make up the largest green area in Qatar

Imad Murad - Doha

Within a distance of more than six kilometers, mangroves (Crimea) trees spread in the ammunition reserve in Qatar, forming a forest extending among the shallow Arabian Gulf waters to be the largest green area in the country.

The area of ​​ammunition - which was issued in 2006 as a natural reserve - is located in the northeast of Qatar, about 64 km from the capital, Doha, and this area includes a marine part that includes Umm Al Far Island and the natural mangrove forest, and a land part that includes gravel lands and wadis.

This region is distinguished by its richness and marine diversity, and the evergreen mangroves in summer and winter, which grow on the salt water of the sea.

Mangroves, or mangroves, as they are called in the Gulf, usually grow in areas that collect rainwater and rivers, but they are also able to absorb salty sea water and convert it into fresh water and feed on it, which qualifies it to spread in various Gulf regions, on top of which is ammunition.

How do you breathe?
Mangroves are unique, as they can breathe when seawater submerges them at the time of the tide, they have small roots that come out from under the ground, and they also contain open cells to breathe through at low tide times, and when the tides happen these cells close to protect tree roots from salinity The big ones in the Gulf waters.

This botanical area is famous for its ecosystem that attracts resident and migratory birds as pink flamingos, and provides food security for local communities, as well as protecting coastal lines and mitigating the effects of climate change and extreme weather events.

The boundaries of that forest form waterways that extend about one kilometer into the waters of the Arabian Gulf, and are six kilometers wide.

The Crimean Forest is the largest green area in the region, and is a great place for families on weekends to spend extraordinary times different from those in the country.

Saleh Mubarak Al-Kuwari, in charge of the marine area of ​​the Creek at the Ministry of Municipal and Environment, explains that mangrove forests with ammunition spread over a vast area flourishing with natural plants in the surrounding desert from each side, noting that this plant area is famous for its ecosystem that attracts resident and migratory birds.

Many benefits
And on the benefit that the ammunition forest provides to the country's ecosystem, Al-Kuwari said that there are direct and indirect benefits for coastal mangroves for humans and the environment and for all life forms in them, including the production of oxygen and the absorption of carbon and toxic gases, and this helps greatly to reduce global warming, and concludes Air is harmful dust and suspensions in the air.

Al-Kuwari adds that the presence of this large density of trees leads to maintaining a suitable temperature for beach life, especially in reducing thermal differences between day and night, as well as maintaining moisture and water circulation in the soil and bringing rain, as mangroves play an important role in preventing drift and erosion phenomena For beach soil.

The Ministry of Municipal and Environment - according to Al-Kuwari - is making great efforts to preserve the ammunition forest in this way and protect it from harmful practices of some visitors, stressing that the beauty this region enjoys deserves protection and preservation, and even making efforts to develop the entire region.

A previous report of the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics monitored the allocation of more than 23% of the land area of ​​Qatar in 2014 as nature reserves (2744 sq km), explaining that in total there are 12 wild environmental natural reserves are (Al-Areeq, Al-Thakira, Khor Al-Adeed, Riffa, Umm Al-Amad Umm Qarn, Al-Sanea, Al-Reem, Al-Shahaniya, Al-Hashabiyah, Al-Wasil, Wadi Sultana). The area of ​​marine reserves is 720 square kilometers, including the Khor Al-Adeed and Al-Thakhira reserve.

The report pointed to the stability of the proportion of natural reserves from the total area of ​​the state, and the Khor Al Adaid Reserve comes at the top of the land reserves in terms of the area of ​​1293 square kilometers, or 47% of the total land reserves, as it is considered the largest marine reserve with an area of ​​540 square kilometers, or 75%. % Of the total marine reserves.