Encased Replanting applies new methodology and technique in mangrove restoration. With employment of the Encased method, mangroves can be established in areas with significant tidal action, wave activity, and upland run-off. Mangroves offer a logical contribution to coast line protection, estuary restoration and a healthy marine environment. The Encased method effectively enables the establishment of mangrove trees where conventional planting techniques can not succeed. Mangrove trees are an indigenous species to Florida and a major contributor to the state's marine environment. The mangrove tree is a halophyte, a plant that thrives in salty conditions. It has the ability to grow where no other tree can, thereby making significant contributions that benefit the environment. Their coverage of coastal shorelines and wetlands provides many diverse species of birds, mammals, crustacea, and fish a unique, irreplaceable habitat. Mangroves preserve water quality and reduce pollution by filtering suspended material and assimilating dissolved nutrients. The tree is the foundation in a complex marine food chain and the detrital food cycle. The detrital food cycle was discovered by two biologists from the University of Miami, Eric Heald & William Odum, in 1969. As mangrove leaves drop into tidal waters they are colonized within a few hours by marine fungi and bacteria that convert difficult to digest carbon compounds into nitrogen rich detritus material. The resulting pieces covered with microorganisms become food for the smallest animals such as worms, snails, shrimp, mollusks, mussels, barnacles, clams, oysters, and the larger commercially important striped mullet. These detritus eaters are food for carnivores including crabs and fish, subsequently birds and game fish follow the food chain, culminating with man. Many of these species, whose continued existence depends on thriving mangroves, are endangered or threatened. It has been estimated that 75% of the game fish and 90% of the commercial species in south Florida rely on the mangrove system. The value of red mangrove prop root habitat for a variety of fishes and invertebrates has been quantitatively documented. Data suggest that the prop root environment may be equally or more important to juveniles than are sea grass beds, on a comparable area basis. Discovery of the importance of mangroves in the marine food chain dramatically changed the respective governmental regulation of coastal land use and development. In order to overcome the deficiencies in existing replanting techniques, Encased Replanting was developed as a more productive and adaptable alternative to current techniques. The method focuses on isolating the seedling into a controlled environment at the actual replanting site. The encasement artificially creates an environment favorable to the seedling's initial development while protecting the plant long enough to become well established. The isolation physically separates the seedling from surrounding conditions that are unfavorable to early development of the tree. By segregating the seedling from harsh environmental factors the encasement provides protection for the seedling during its formative stages and continues through the first three years of growth. By the third year the young red mangrove starts to sprout its aerial roots which will physically secure the plant to the bottom and ensure its long term survival. The development of aerial roots is a crucial step that ensures viability of the developing tree. The aerial roots provide for the exchange of gases needed for respiration and will enable the tree to root even in mud lacking oxygen. Once aerial roots extend into the bottom they will provide adequate protection from displacement and ensure the continuing subsistence of the plant. Aerial or prop roots are a distinctive root structure of the Red Mangrove and a characteristic that makes the Encased method of planting an effective means of replenishment. The aerial root is the mechanism that will ultimately secure the plant making it resistant to environmental factors that would under normal conditions prohibit development at many potential replenishment sites. The support provided by the aerial roots will hold the trunk of mature trees above the mean high tide water level. Over time an intricate maze of roots will protrude from the stem and end the plant's dependence on the encasement for its survival. In environments that are unfavorable to the seedling's initial development, the encased method will allow the tree to reach a point where its own infrastructure can overcome factors that are hostile to the immature tree. As the plant matures it will establish a dense foundation of prop roots and will continue to develop independent of the encasement. This foundation will enable the mangrove to grow into a healthy, self-supporting tree.