Duke, Norman C. (2001) Gap creation and regenerative processes driving diversity and structure of mangrove ecosystems. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 9 (3). pp. 257-269.

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Abstract

Turnover within both mangrove and terrestrial forests is driven by stand development in conjunction with factors influencing tree death and replacement at various temporal and spatial scales. Development in terrestrial forests appears comparable with that in mangroves but turnover seems to differ considerably between these broad forest types. The most important difference is in the character of small forest gaps. Gaps are common in terrestrial forests but those in mangroves rarely involve falls of large older trees in the first instance. Instead, mangrove trees usually die standing in small clusters of mixed age cohorts. Identifying a common cause for gap creation in mangroves might be important towards understanding what drives forest turnover but there is a greater need to quantify this process. Small-scale disturbance in mangrove forests is poorly quantified but preliminary evidence implies that its' importance may have been greatly under-estimated. Based on available observations, a conceptual model of mangrove forest development and gap regeneration is proposed. The model helps explain the peculiar characteristics and structure of mangrove forests and how these forests might respond to changing environmental conditions and disturbance at various landscape scales.

Item ID:	48920
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1572-9834
Keywords:	mangrove; habitat; forest; turnover; gap creation; lightning; recruitment; growth; model
Funders:	University of Queensland
Date Deposited:	11 May 2017 02:47
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 30% 05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050206 Environmental Monitoring @ 30% 05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0501 Ecological Applications > 050102 Ecosystem Function @ 40%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 30% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960503 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Coastal and Estuarine Environments @ 40% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9606 Environmental and Natural Resource Evaluation > 960603 Environmental Lifecycle Assessment @ 30%
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