Abstract:
Mangrove forests play an important role in carbon storage because they are highly net primary production (NPP) ecosystems. Even most of the trees grow under high saline and anoxic environment due to the effects of tidal inundation. Globally the sea level tends to increase due to global climate change. As a result, salinity regimes and nutrient budgets in mangrove forests have been altered, which may affect the growth of mangrove trees. This study investigated the trunk basal-area increment, leaf emergence, and leaf loss and observed the leaf nutrient resorption of Avicennia alba under the changing of water and soil environments during the rainy and dry seasons, from July 2019 to June 2020. The study site is located in a secondary mangrove forest at the estuary of the Trat River. The results showed a seasonal pattern of the trunk basal-area increment and the leaf emergence that the growth rates were high in the rainy season and consequently decreased in the dry season. During the rainy season, a large amount of rainfall reduced water salinity. The contents of total nitrogen in water tended to increase during the rainy season. Therefore, A. alba absorbed a large amount of freshwater and nitrogen through the root absorption for further tree growth. Moreover, phosphorus resorption efficiency (PRE) increased during the rainy season resulting in high nutrient availability for tree growth. Both the high trunk basal-area increment and leaf emergence rates during the rainy season indicated that A. alba has a growth strategy under salinity and nutrient fluctuations by taking an advantage of the high growth rate under conditions of low water salinity. Moreover, the high efficiency of nutrient resorption during the rainy season also responded to the rapid growth. These findings explain how mangrove ecosystem can maintain their high global carbon stock.