High primary productivity under submerged soil raises the net ecosystem productivity of a secondary mangrove forest in eastern Thailand

Abstract

The distribution of mangrove forests is limited to the coastal zones of tropical and subtropical regions, and their total area is far smaller than that of upland forests (Spalding et al . 2010). Mangrove forests often show unique patterns of biomass allocation and carbon dynamics because they are periodically submerged by tides (Komiyama et al . 2008). Therefore, the contribution of mangrove forests to the global carbon fixation process should be carefully evaluated even though their distribution area is limited.