Litter Fall Dynamics of Restored Mangroves (Rhizophora mucronata Lamk. and Sonneratia alba Sm.) in Kenya

Abstract

Mangrove forests are active carbon sinks and important for nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems. Restoration of degraded mangrove habitats enhances return of ecosystem goods and services, including carbon sequestration. Our objective was to assess the restoration of primary productivity of reforested mangrove stands in comparison with natural reference stands in Gazi Bay, Kenya. Litter fall data were collected in nine Rhizophora mucronata and Sonneratia alba monospecific stands by use of litter traps over 2 years. Litter was emptied monthly, dried, sorted, and weighed. The reforested and natural stands showed seasonality patterns only in the production of reproductive material. Leaves constituted the highest percentage to total litter fall. Litter productivity rates for the R. mucronata stands were not significantly different and ranged from 6.61–10.15 to 8.36–11.02 t ha−1 yr−1 for the restored and natural stands, respectively. The productivity of 5 years R. mucronata stands reached 5.22 t ha−1 yr−1 and was significantly different from other stands. Litter productivity rates for S. alba stands was 7.77–7.85 for the restored stands and 10.15 t ha−1 yr−1 for the natural stand but differences were not significant. Our results indicate that plantations of at least 11 years have attained litter productivity rates comparable to the natural forests. This suggests that productivity of replanted mangroves is likely to reach complete recovery by this age under the prevailing environmental conditions.

Deposição De Serapilheira E Nutrientes Em Áreas De Mineração Submetidas a Métodos De Restauração Florestal Em Paragominas, Pará

“…Alguns estudos foram desenvolvidos com serapilheira em áreas em processo de restauração florestal (GOMES et al, 2011;WANG'ONDU et al, 2014;SOUZA et al, 2016). Isso mostra que o aumento da deposição de serapilheira e nutrientes contribui positivamente para acelerar o desenvolvimento do ecossistema (MACHADO et al, 2015;LONDE et al, 2016).…”

Conceptualizing ecological restoration: a concise and adaptable framework for researchers and practitioners

“…The goals of ecological restoration projects are diverse in scale and scope. Goals range from reestablishing populations of a single species, such as Ameiva polops (St. Croix ground lizard) in the Caribbean (Fitzgerald et al ), to recovery of ecosystem function such as nutrient cycling in Kenyan mangrove forests (Wang'ondu et al ), to improving landscape‐level patch connectivity in high‐altitude woodlands in Peru (Lloyd & Marsden ). Despite the scale, scope, ecosystem, species, or principles and standards (Suding et al ; Gann et al ; Higgs et al , ) upon which any ecological restoration goal is based, the restoration triangle framework is broad enough to be useful.…”

Fate of leaf litter in restored Kandelia obovata (S. L.) mangrove forests with different ages in Jiulong River Estuary, China

“…This carbon processing should be monitored in detail and considered when evaluating the success of restored mangrove forests; however, to date, information on carbon processing and dynamics in restored mangrove ecosystems is still rare (Field ; Bayraktarov et al ). To the best of our knowledge, the fates of leaf litter following mangrove restoration have not been addressed and limited studies have focused on solely the production or decomposition of leaf litter in restored mangrove forests (Ye et al ; Li & Ye ; Wang'ondu et al ).…”