Continental scale patterns in mangrove litter fall

Abstract

Litter fall was monitored in stands of the mangrove species Rhizophora stylosa Griff., Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C. B. Robinson and Avicennia marina (Forsk.), Vierh. at approximately monthly intervals over a single annual cycle at selected locations around the coastline of Australia and throughout the distribution of each species. Concurrent data were obtained from a single location near Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The materials recovered in sub-canopy catchers were sorted into major categories and dried and weighed as leaves, petiolar stipules, twigs and other woody tissues, reproductive parts (flowers, flower buds, fruit and propagules) and residual detritus. This paper considers the principal findings of the study among which it may be reported that the highest total annual litter recoveries at individual catchers were 1598 g dry wt m⁻² for A. marina, 2369 g dry wt m⁻² for R. stylosa and 1290 g dry wt m⁻² for C. tagal. Significant regional differences in litter fall emerged when data from major climatic zones were compared. The outcome of this analysis is detailed in the body of the paper.