Abstract:
A review of studies on belowground
biomass (BGB) of mangroves revealed that proce-
dures for excavation and determination of dry weight
are insufficiently documented. The main objective of
this study was therefore to describe procedures for
quantification of tree BGB for Avicennia marina
(Forssk.), Sonneratia alba J. Smith and Rhizophora
mucronata Lam. The study covered four sites in
Tanzania where 30 trees were sampled (10 for each
species). A new root sampling procedure applied for
A. marina and S. alba seemed to work adequately. Dry
to fresh weight ratios (DF-ratios) varied between tree
species, between tree sizes and between root compo-
nents. Therefore, for each tree species, tree- and root
component-specific DF-ratios were applied for dry
weight determination. For A. marina and S. alba trees,
a significant proportion of total tree BGB is stored in
the root crown (34 and 10 % respectively). Future
studies should therefore ensure inclusion of root crown
when accounting for total tree BGB.
