The New Caledonian mangroves colonize the areas supplied with fresh water - often located in the river estuaries - and protected from the sea currents. The seawater enters the land at each high tide and its evaporation concentrates the salt in the soil which becomes more salty further from the shore. Different plant species grow from the seaside to the inland depending on their resistance to salt. The New Caledonian mangrove trees are of 5 main genera : the stilt mangroves (Rhizophora spp.), gray mangroves (Avicennia marina), red mangroves (Bruguiera gymnhoryza), black mangroves (Lumnitzera racemosa, Lumnitzera littorea) and sun mangroves (Sonneratia alba, Sonneratia caseolaris).