Nutrient enrichment increases mortality of mangroves

Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone places intense pressure on marine communities. Previous studies have shown that growth of intertidal mangrove forests is accelerated with enhanced nutrient availability. However, nutrient enrichment favours growth of shoots relative to roots, thus enhancing gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2009-05, Vol.4 (5), p.e5600-5600
Main Authors: Lovelock, Catherine E, Ball, Marilyn C, Martin, Katherine C, C Feller, Ilka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Avicennia - drug effects
Avicennia - growth & development
Biogeography
Climate change
Coastal ecosystems
Coastal zone
Coasts
Cytospora rhizophorae
Drought
Droughts
Ecology/Ecosystem Ecology
Ecology/Marine and Freshwater Ecology
Ecology/Physiological Ecology
Ecology/Plant-Environment Interactions
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Environmental stress
Eutrophication
Fertilizers
Geologic Sediments
Health aspects
Humidity
Irrigation
Low humidity
Mangrove swamps
Mangroves
Moisture content
Mortality
National parks
Nitrogen
Nitrogen - pharmacology
Nutrient availability
Nutrient enrichment
Nutrients
Pinus radiata
Plant Biology/Plant-Environment Interactions
Rain
Rain and rainfall
Rainfall
Rhizophora mangle
Roots
Salinity
Salinity effects
Sediments
Shoots
Sodium Chloride - pharmacology
Soil moisture
Soil water
Stresses
Trees
Tsunamis
Water relations
Water salinity
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Summary:Nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone places intense pressure on marine communities. Previous studies have shown that growth of intertidal mangrove forests is accelerated with enhanced nutrient availability. However, nutrient enrichment favours growth of shoots relative to roots, thus enhancing growth rates but increasing vulnerability to environmental stresses that adversely affect plant water relations. Two such stresses are high salinity and low humidity, both of which require greater investment in roots to meet the demands for water by the shoots. Here we present data from a global network of sites that documents enhanced mortality of mangroves with experimental nutrient enrichment at sites where high sediment salinity was coincident with low rainfall and low humidity. Thus the benefits of increased mangrove growth in response to coastal eutrophication is offset by the costs of decreased resilience due to mortality during drought, with mortality increasing with soil water salinity along climatic gradients.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0005600