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Wood density in mangrove forests on the Brazilian Amazon coast

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Wood density varies among mangrove tree species and diameter size classes, reflecting ontogenetic strategies influenced by environmental conditions, such as the salinity gradient.

Abstract

Wood density is one of the most widely used parameters for the description of the structure of a plant and its production of biomass/carbon, as well as its strategies of growth and survival in the context of varying environmental conditions. Data were compiled on the wood density of the three mangrove tree species [Rhizophora mangle L., Avicennia germinans (L.) L., and Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C. F. Gaertn.] that predominate on the Ajuruteua Peninsula in Bragança on the Amazon coast of the Brazilian state of Pará, focusing on the stem position and diameter classes. The influence of the salinity gradient on the wood density of A. germinans was analyzed based on the definition of the three zones of salinity defined from the mean salinity values ascertained from the principal tidal channels found on the peninsula. Wood density varied significantly among species, diameter classes, and saline zones, but not in relation to the position on the stem. Our findings indicate that the inter- and intra-specific variation found in the wood density of the mangrove trees is the result of the different levels of salinity found in the study area, mediated by the variation in the growth of the plant in response to desiccation and hypersalinity that occur at higher elevation in the intertidal zone. In addition, the A. germinans trees with the highest wood density were found in the most saline zone, where these mangrove trees present a reduced assimilation of carbon, which affects the spatial distribution of this species, its production of biomass, and carbon storage.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the staff of the Laboratório de Ecologia de Manguezal—Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) for providing logistical and technical support. The study was funded by Fundo Amazônia—Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico Social (BNDES—Project no. 3052) and Fundação Amazônia de Amparo a Estudos e Pesquisas (FAPESPA)-Vale (ICAAF no. 068). We highly appreciated the dedicated work of field assistants (B. Prestes, E. Barroso, A. Júnior, F. Aviz, Gessé, and Virgílio). A special thanks to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which substantially improved the manuscript.

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  1. Laboratório de Ecologia de Manguezal, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Universidade Federal do Pará, Campus de Bragança, Bragança, Pará, 66800-000, Brazil

    Paulo C. C. Virgulino-Júnior, Danilo C. L. Gardunho, Diego N. C. Silva & Marcus E. B. Fernandes

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  1. Paulo C. C. Virgulino-Júnior
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Virgulino-Júnior, P.C.C., Gardunho, D.C.L., Silva, D.N.C. et al. Wood density in mangrove forests on the Brazilian Amazon coast. Trees 34, 51–60 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01896-5

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