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Forests
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Advances in Mangrove Ecology
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Advances in Mangrove Ecology

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 October 2023) | Viewed by 14751

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Martin Zimmer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: tropical coastal ecosystems; mangrove ecology; ecosystem processes; ecosystem services; decomposition and element fluxes; interspecific interactions; sediment dyanmics; community composition; species distribution; knowledge-based conservation and restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Véronique Helfer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: mangrove ecosystems; species distribution modelling; eDNA/aDNA biomonitoring; landscape genetics/genomics; environmental metabolomics; mangrove microbiome; spatial conservation planning
Dr. Jonas C. Geburzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: marine biodiversity; population genomics; global change biology; coastal ecology; biogeography; marine invertebrate zoology
Dr. Daniel Arturo Saavedra Hortua

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany
Interests: sea-scape processes; coastal ecosystem connectivity; evironmental-biotic interactions; mangrove ecosystem services; blue carbon; spatial conservation planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The attention that both scientists and the public (and alongside politicians) are paying to mangroves and their fate has increased rapidly in recent years. In parallel, research on mangroves has changed from purely descriptive floristics and faunistics some decades ago to more mechanistic and experimental approaches. These changes in research activities tremendously enhanced our knowledge and understanding of mangrove ecosystems and processes at different scales, from local to global. It seems about time to pause for a moment and recapitulate what we have disovered thus far, what we have learned recently—but also what we still do not understand and what we want to achieve. This Special Issue on Advances in Mangrove Ecology aims to gather together the most up-to-date knowledge on mangrove ecology from this year. We invite colleagues from all over the world to submit their research on all aspects of mangrove ecology, including studies on all kinds of organisms (flora, fauna, microbiota) and compartments (e.g., sediment, porewater) in mangroves, encompassing all spatial and organisational levels (individuum, population, community, ecosystem and beyond). We preferrentially welcome experimental or manipulative studies, but will also consider  hypothesis-driven observational studies, as well as theoretical/literature compilations and metaanalyses, ideally covering larger areas or longer time spans. We expect all contributions to advance our overall understanding of mangrove ecosystems.

Prof. Dr. Martin Zimme
Dr. Véronique Helfer
Dr. Jonas C. Geburzi
Dr. Daniel Arturo Saavedra Hortua
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mangroves
  • mangrove ecology
  • mangrove fauna
  • mangrove flora
  • mangrove microbiota
  • ecosystem dynamics and processes
  • biotic interactions
  • sediment dynamics and processes
  • ecosystem connectivity
  • species distribution
  • functional traits

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2391 KiB  
Article
Foliar Water Uptake Capacity in Six Mangrove Species
by Katrien H. D. Schaepdryver, Willem Goossens, Abdulla Naseef, Sreejith Kalpuzha Ashtamoorthy and Kathy Steppe
Forests 2022, 13(6), 951; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13060951 - 17 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3184
Abstract
Foliar water uptake (FWU) is a mechanism that enables plants to acquire water from the atmosphere through their leaves. As mangroves live in a saline sediment water environment, the mechanism of FWU might be of vital importance to acquire freshwater and grow. The [...] Read more.
Foliar water uptake (FWU) is a mechanism that enables plants to acquire water from the atmosphere through their leaves. As mangroves live in a saline sediment water environment, the mechanism of FWU might be of vital importance to acquire freshwater and grow. The goal of this study was to assess the FWU capacity of six different mangrove species belonging to four genera using a series of submersion experiments in which the leaf mass increase was measured and expressed per unit leaf area. The foliar water uptake capacity differed between species with the highest and lowest average water uptake in Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. (1.52 ± 0.48 mg H2O cm−2) and Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. (0.13 ± 0.06 mg H2O cm−2), respectively. Salt-excreting species showed a higher FWU capacity than non-excreting species. Moreover, A. marina, a salt-excreting species, showed a distinct leaf anatomical trait, i.e., trichomes, which were not observed in the other species and might be involved in the water absorption process. The storage of leaves in moist Ziplock bags prior to measurement caused leaf water uptake to already occur during transport to the field station, which proportionately increased the leaf water potential (A. marina: −0.31 ± 0.13 MPa and B. gymnorhiza: −2.70 ± 0.27 MPa). This increase should be considered when performing best practice leaf water potential measurements but did not affect the quantification of FWU capacity because of the water potential gradient between a leaf and the surrounding water during submersion. Our results highlight the differences that exist in FWU capacity between species residing in the same area and growing under the same environmental conditions. This comparative study therefore enhances our understanding of mangrove species’ functioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mangrove Ecology)
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18 pages, 13897 KiB  
Article
Geomorphic and Climatic Drivers Are Key Determinants of Structural Variability of Mangrove Forests along the Kenyan Coast
by Derrick Muthomi Njiru, Michael Njoroge Githaiga, Justine Muhoro Nyaga, Kipkorir Sigi Lang’at and James Gitundu Kairo
Forests 2022, 13(6), 870; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13060870 - 1 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2737
Abstract
Mangrove forests occur across a diversity of coastal landforms that influence their structural development and productivity. Preliminary studies in Kenya indicate that mangroves growing in the region north and south of Tana River delta have different structural attributes. We hypothesise a close relationship [...] Read more.
Mangrove forests occur across a diversity of coastal landforms that influence their structural development and productivity. Preliminary studies in Kenya indicate that mangroves growing in the region north and south of Tana River delta have different structural attributes. We hypothesise a close relationship between mangrove distribution, climate and landform types. Floristic composition of mangroves along the coast of Kenya was characterised and differences illustrated using non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS). Other structural properties of mangroves such as tree height, basal area, stand density and standing biomass were also assessed and their differences tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA). A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to compare mangrove species based on structural properties. Additionally, a regression fit model was used to investigate the relationship between mangrove standing biomass and possible drivers of variability. The study revealed significant differences in mangrove tree diameter, tree height, basal area, stand density and standing biomass across the sampled sites. High values of structural complexity were observed in estuarine and deltaic settings with high influence of freshwater input whereas low levels of structural complexity were observed for peri-urban with direct human influence. Our findings suggest that structural variability of mangroves in Kenya is highly influenced by geomorphological and climatic variability along the coast as well as the past and present management regimes of the forest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mangrove Ecology)
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16 pages, 2203 KiB  
Article
The Opposite of Biotic Resistance: Herbivory and Competition Suppress Regeneration of Native but Not Introduced Mangroves in Southern China
by Dan Peng, Yihui Zhang, Jiayu Wang and Steven Charles Pennings
Forests 2022, 13(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020192 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2985
Abstract
Mangrove forests are increasingly threatened by plant invasions worldwide, but some mangrove species are invasive and threaten salt marsh and native mangrove ecosystems. The southern coast of China is invaded by the cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, and the mangrove Sonneratia apetala, providing [...] Read more.
Mangrove forests are increasingly threatened by plant invasions worldwide, but some mangrove species are invasive and threaten salt marsh and native mangrove ecosystems. The southern coast of China is invaded by the cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, and the mangrove Sonneratia apetala, providing a model system for studying the processes and mechanisms through which non-native species establish and spread. We used a transplant experiment to test the overarching hypothesis that native herbivores and plants provided biotic resistance against invasion by S. apetala, and that the importance of these factors would vary geographically. Survival of transplanted mangrove seedlings was lower in Zhangjiang Estuary (23°55′ N) than in Leizhou Bay (20°56′ N), and varied with species and habitats. S. apetala had higher survival and growth rates than native mangroves at both sites, and S. apetala grew taller than the S. alterniflora canopy at Leizhou Bay in only two growing seasons. In contrast, native mangroves grew poorly in S. alterniflora. Grazing by rodents and insects suppressed the growth and survival of Kandelia obovata and Avicennia marina in Zhangjiang Estuary and Leizhou Bay, but had little effect on S. apetala. Competition with vegetation (S. alterniflora and native mangroves) exacerbated the reduced survival of native mangroves, and these effects varied across study sites. Low survival of non-native S. apetala in vegetated habitats at Zhangjiang Estuary was likely due to a synergistic effect of low winter temperatures and low light intensity. Escape from herbivory (the opposite to biotic resistance) and fast growth may drive the quick expansion of non-native S. apetala in China. Rapid encroachment of S. apetala may transform the native mangrove forests and monospecific intertidal Spartina grasslands into non-native mangrove forests in the southern coast of China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mangrove Ecology)
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22 pages, 4950 KiB  
Article
Influence of Edaphic Salinity on Leaf Morphoanatomical Functional Traits on Juvenile and Adult Trees of Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle): Implications with Relation to Climate Change
by Alejandra Robles Sánchez, José Ernesto Mancera Pineda, Xavier Marquínez Casas and Jairo Humberto Medina Calderón
Forests 2021, 12(11), 1586; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111586 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2881
Abstract
Rhizophora mangle L. is one of the most distributed species of neotropical mangroves. The species exhibits great phenological variability that is associated with saline concentrations of the sediment where it grows. Among the organs that are most affected by interstitial and tidal water [...] Read more.
Rhizophora mangle L. is one of the most distributed species of neotropical mangroves. The species exhibits great phenological variability that is associated with saline concentrations of the sediment where it grows. Among the organs that are most affected by interstitial and tidal water salinity concentrations are the leaves. Since the hypersalinity generates water deficiency, it changes photosynthetic and hydraulic processes of the plant. To understand the relationship between the variation in leaf blade parameters and the water stress generated by salinity in two growth stages, morphoanatomical functional traits were quantified in leaves of juveniles and adults of R. mangle in three structurally different mangrove forests with different ranges of natural salinity (Oligohaline: 5.8–11.7 practical salinity units (PSU); Euhaline: 9.2–35.6 PSU and 23.9–47.7 PSU). We hypothesized that water stress caused by salinity generates modification in conductivity, water-storage, and photosynthetic tissues. Our results showed a greater number of morphoanatomical traits affected by salinity in juveniles compared to adults, greater variability in the traits associated with water accumulation and transport. Adults and juveniles subjected to higher values of salinity had traits more tolerant of variability in this factor, allowing superior adaptation to environments with high water deficit than individuals originating in oligohaline environments. This difference in adaptability to salinity between populations of R. mangle may imply different responses to climate change, where populations of oligohaline origin will be more susceptible to hypersalinization resulting from this phenomenon, while populations of euhaline origin could more effectively tolerate the aquatic stresses caused, allowing a prolongation of their permanence and the provision of their ecosystem services over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mangrove Ecology)
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