Deakin University
Browse

Evaluating litter yield and decomposition for re-vegetated mangroves in a subtropical mudflat

Download (1.2 MB)
journal contribution
posted on 2019-08-01, 00:00 authored by A Niu, T Zhou, X Yang, Y Gao, S Xu, Chu Xia LinChu Xia Lin
Field monitoring and incubation experiments were conducted to evaluate the litter yield and examine the decomposition of the litter of three representative mangrove species frequently used for mangrove re-vegetation in a subtropical mudflat on the South China coast. The results show that the litter yield of the investigated mangrove species varied significantly from season to season. The annual litter production was in the following decreasing order: Heritiera littoralis > Thespesia populnea > Kandelia obovata. Initially, rapid decomposition of easily degradable components of the litter materials resulted in a marked weight loss of the mangrove litter. There was a good linear relationship between the length of field incubation time and the litter decomposition rate for both the branch and the leaf portion of the three investigated mangrove species. Approximately 50% or more of the added mangrove litter could be decomposed within one year and the decomposed litter could be incorporated into the underlying soils and consequently affect the soil carbon dynamics. An annual soil carbon increase from 2.37 to 4.64 g/kg in the top 5 cm of the soil was recorded for the investigated mangrove species.

History

Journal

Applied sciences

Volume

9

Article number

3340

Pagination

1-10

Location

Basel, Switzerland

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

2076-3417

eISSN

2076-3417

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

16

Publisher

MDPI

Usage metrics

    Research Publications

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC