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dc.contributor.authorWafar, S.
dc.contributor.authorUntawale, A.G.
dc.contributor.authorWafar, M.V.M.
dc.date.accessioned2009-01-12T08:40:13Z
dc.date.available2009-01-12T08:40:13Z
dc.date.issued1997
dc.identifier.citationEstuarine Coastal Shelf Science, Vol.44; 111-124p.
dc.identifier.urihttp://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1982
dc.description.abstractProduction, elemental composition and In situ decomposition of litter of Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, Sonneratia alba and Avicennia offcinalis were studied in a mangrove ecosystem fringing Mandovi-Zuari Estuaries on the Central West Coast of India, Litter yield ranged from 10.2 tonnes ha sup(-1) in A. officinalis through 11.8 (R. apiculata and R. mucronata) to 17 tonnes ha sup(-1) year sup(-1) in S. alba. Seasonally maximum litter fall was in pre and post-monsoon months, with the lowest production in the monsoon. Modelling of litter fall as a function of Julian day and six environmental parameters showed that the observed changes can be explained in terms of dry/wet season and wind speed, with a less than 10% difference between calculated and observed annualo averages. C, N and P contents of 13 litter fractions in the four species were 41.9-43.4, 0.66-1.15 and 0.054-0.105% N:P, C:N and C:P ratios were less than 30, 30-100 and greater than 1000. Total decomposition (98-100% loss in dry weight and C, and greater than 90% loss in N and P) of yellow leaves was within 15 weeks in the two Rhizophora spp. and S. alba, and within 8 weeks in A.officinalis. In all four species, mass changes during decomposition obeyed first-order kinetics. Comparison of C, N and P fluxes from the decomposing mangrove litter with phytoplankton, bacterial and secondary production in the estuarine waters showed that mangrove production is important mainly for the C budget of the Estuaries and in sustaining the microbial food chain and nutrient regeneration, rather than the particulate food chain directly
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAcademic Press
dc.rightsCopyright [1997]. All efforts have been made to respect the copyright to the best of our knowledge. Inadvertent omissions, if brought to our notice, stand for correction and withdrawal of document from this repository.
dc.subjectmangrove swamps
dc.subjectenergy transfer
dc.subjectdegradation
dc.subjectdetritus
dc.subjectleaves
dc.subjectcarbon
dc.subjectnitrogen
dc.subjectphosphorus
dc.titleLitter fall and energy flux in a mangrove ecosystem
dc.typeJournal Article


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