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Mangrove growth in New Zealand estuaries: the role of nutrient enrichment at sites with contrasting rates of sedimentation

  • Ecosystem Ecology
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Abstract

Mangrove forest coverage is increasing in the estuaries of the North Island of New Zealand, causing changes in estuarine ecosystem structure and function. Sedimentation and associated nutrient enrichment have been proposed to be factors leading to increases in mangrove cover, but the relative importance of each of these factors is unknown. We conducted a fertilization study in estuaries with different sedimentation histories in order to determine the role of nutrient enrichment in stimulating mangrove growth and forest development. We expected that if mangroves were nutrient-limited, nutrient enrichment would lead to increases in mangrove growth and forest structure and that nutrient enrichment of trees in our site with low sedimentation would give rise to trees and sediments that converged in terms of functional characteristics on control sites in our high sedimentation site. The effects of fertilizing with nitrogen (N) varied among sites and across the intertidal zone, with enhancements in growth, photosynthetic carbon gain, N resorption prior to leaf senescence and the leaf area index of canopies being significantly greater at the high sedimentation sites than at the low sedimentation sites, and in landward dwarf trees compared to seaward fringing trees. Sediment respiration (CO2 efflux) was higher at the high sedimentation site than at the low one sedimentation site, but it was not significantly affected by fertilization, suggesting that the high sedimentation site supported greater bacterial mineralization of sediment carbon. Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone has a role in facilitating the expansion of mangroves in estuaries of the North Island of New Zealand, but this effect is secondary to that of sedimentation, which increases habitat area and stimulates growth. In estuaries with high sediment loads, enrichment with N will cause greater mangrove growth and further changes in ecosystem function.

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Acknowledgments

Awards from the Smithsonian Institution and a WISC award from the American Association for the Advancement provided support for CEL, ICF and JE. This study was funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (C01X0024, C01X0215, and C01X0307). Thanks to Jane Halliday, Greig Funnell, Deborah Hofstra, Rupert Craggs, Louise Hunt, Paul Buisson and many other NIWA staff who assisted with field measurements, and to Ray Feller for his assistance in the field and laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Catherine E. Lovelock

  2. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 20132, USA

    Ilka C. Feller

  3. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Science, P.O Box 11-115, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Joanne Ellis, Ann Maree Schwarz, Nicole Hancock, Pip Nichols & Brian Sorrell

Authors
  1. Catherine E. Lovelock
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  2. Ilka C. Feller
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  3. Joanne Ellis
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  4. Ann Maree Schwarz
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  5. Nicole Hancock
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  6. Pip Nichols
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  7. Brian Sorrell
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Correspondence to Catherine E. Lovelock.

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Communicated by Marilyn Ball.

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Lovelock, C.E., Feller, I.C., Ellis, J. et al. Mangrove growth in New Zealand estuaries: the role of nutrient enrichment at sites with contrasting rates of sedimentation. Oecologia 153, 633–641 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0750-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0750-y

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