Introduction

Mangroves possess both intrinsic, ecological, and practical value. Initially, these coastal mangrove forests, situated in the intertidal zone, play a crucial role in safeguarding and sustaining the diversity and ecological dynamics of tropical/subtropical coastal ecosystems. Additionally, they offer a wide array of ecological and cultural services to human societies. Moreover, by sequestering carbon in their organic-rich sediments, mangroves stand out as the foremost blue-carbon ecosystems, contributing to the global warming mitigation. Despite their significance, mangroves face severe threats, ranking among the world’s most endangered ecosystems. Sustaining current deforestation rates poses a substantial risk to their long-term survival. Consequently, this predicament has spurred the initiation of numerous global initiatives aimed at conserving and restoring mangroves, necessitating a foundation of robust ecological and evolutionary knowledge. This book is focused on mangroves from the Neotropical Caribbean region and aims to provide a comprehensive ecological and evolutionary view of these ecosystems, from their evolutionary origin to their current patterns. The main environmental drivers of mangrove ecology and evolution are also analyzed, with emphasis on plate tectonics and continental drift, climatic and sea-level shifts, and recent anthropogenic pressure. This is conducted using a time-continuum integrative approach aimed at circumventing the past–present dissociation and the associated methodological and conceptual drawbacks.