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Mangrove forests expand and contract with a lunar cycle

The carbon-sequestering trees flourish in sync with a roughly 18-year tide cycle linked to the moon

photo shows mangrove trees in the foreground and a beach with boats on the water in the background

Mangrove forests in Australia (one shown) tend to grow according to a roughly 18-year lunar cycle, a new study finds.

Krzysztof Dydynski/Lonely Planet RF/Getty Images

By Katherine Kornei

The glossy leaves and branching roots of mangroves are downright eye-catching, and now a study finds that the moon plays a special role in the vigor of these trees.

Long-term tidal cycles set in motion by the moon drive, in large part, the expansion and contraction of mangrove forests in Australia, researchers report in the Sept.