Abstract
Mangrove species are broadly classified as ‘true mangroves’ and ‘mangrove associates’. We hypothesized that the leaf litter decomposition rates of true mangroves differ significantly from the mangrove associates under the same ecological and bio-climatic conditions. In order to test this hypothesis, the leaf litter decay rates of 24 true mangrove species and 10 mangrove associates along with the concomitant carbon and nitrogen dynamics of the litters were studied in the tropical mangrove forest of Sundarban by means of litter bags. The decomposition was monitored for six consecutive weeks in the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season. All the species in general went through a rapid decay phase in the first 2 weeks, however, the rate substantially decreased in the following 4 weeks. Most of the species studied had significant seasonal variability (p < 0.05) in the decay rate. Species-specific decay was highest throughout the monsoon and least during the post-monsoon season. The mean dry weight composition (i.e. percentage of dry weight of the leaf litters remaining at the end of weekly intervals) of the true mangroves was 10–12 % higher than the mangrove associates throughout the sampling period. The mean decay constants (K in week−1) of the true mangroves were 0.15 ± 0.05, 0.20 ± 0.06 and 0.16 ± 0.05 in the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season respectively. The mangrove associates had significantly higher decay constants in the respective seasons that followed the order 0.23 ± 0.09, 0.25 ± 0.06 and 0.24 ± 0.09. As a consequence, the computed mean half-life period of the true mangrove litters (32 ± 11 days) was much higher than the mangrove associates (23 ± 11 days). This showed that collectively the leaf litters of mangrove associates degraded at a much faster rate than the true mangroves throughout the annual cycle and thus our hypothesis was justified.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the National Remote Sensing Centre, (NRSC) Department of Space, Government of India for funding the research work. Abhra Chanda is grateful to the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for providing the INSPIRE fellowship. The field assistance of Mr. Nihar Mondol is gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to the ‘Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science’ for providing the instrumental aid required for carbon and nitrogen content analysis. We the authors are extremely grateful to Mr. Matthew Murrill for upgrading the quality of the present manuscript. Lastly, we are extremely thankful to the anonymous reviewers for providing us valuable suggestions and recommendations which helped us to resolve several issues and enhance the overall scientific quality of the paper.
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National Remote Sensing Centre, Department of Space, Government of India, Balanagar, Hyderabad – 500 037, Andhra Pradesh, India; Department of Science & Technology, INSPIRE Programme, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi – 110016
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Chanda, A., Akhand, A., Manna, S. et al. Mangrove associates versus true mangroves: a comparative analysis of leaf litter decomposition in Sundarban. Wetlands Ecol Manage 24, 293–315 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9456-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9456-9