Above- and below-ground biomass, and allometry, of four common northern Australian mangroves

Mangrove forests are an integral part of tropical coastal ecosystems, particularly in northern Australia. In the Northern Territory, studies have determined the extent and species diversity of these associations but little is known of biomass or productivity. We sampled the above- and below-ground biomass of the four most abundant species, Avicennia marina, Bruguiera exaristata, Ceriops australis and Rhizophora stylosa, developed allometric relationships and examined partitioning. Unlike many other studies, we sampled below-ground biomass, which constituted a substantial proportion (0.29-0.57) of the total dry weight. Our results should be valuable in modelling potential changes in carbon allocation resulting from small- and large-scale ecosystem changes. � CSIRO 2005.