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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.9, 72-78
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
72
Research Article Open Access
Carbon Partitioning and Allometric Relationships between Stem Diameter
and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in Plant Components of
Bruguiera
gymnorrhiza
(L.) Lamk. and
Lumnitzera racemosa
Willd. in a Microtidal
Basin Estuary in Sri Lanka
K.A.R.S. Perera
1
, M.D. Amarasinghe
2
1. The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
2. Department of Botany, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
Corresponding author email: mala@kln.ac.lk;
Authors
International Journal of Marine Science, 2013, Vol.3, No.9 doi: 10.5376/ijms.2013.03.0009
Received: 05 Jan., 2013
Accepted: 14 Jan., 2013
Published: 20 Feb., 2013
Copyright
©
2013 Perera and Amarasinghe, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Perera and Amarasinghe, 2013, Carbon Partitioning and Allometric Relationships between Stem Diameter and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in Plant
Components of
Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
(L.) Lamk. and
Lumnitzera racemosa
Willd. in a Microtidal Basin Estuary in Sri Lanka, International Journal of Marine
Science, Vol.3, No.9 72
-
78 (doi: 10.5376/ijms.2013.03.0009)
Abstract
The capacity of plants to sequester carbon depends on net primary productivity and pattern of biomass/carbon partitioning
within the plant which is not well understood for mangroves. Above (A) to below (B)-ground carbon ratio (A/B) of both
Bruguiera
gymnorrhiza
(L.) Lamk. and
Lumnitzera racemosa
Willd. from where micro-tidal conditions prevail, Negombo estuary, Sri Lanka
(7
°
11′42.18″N- 79
°
50′47.50″E) was approximately 3, and more closely resembles that of terrestrial plants than mangroves in
macro-tidal environments. Relatively low inundation frequency, duration and depth apparently promote aerial growth than root
production. Wet oxidation without external heating, followed by colorimetric method was adopted to determine total organic carbon
(TOC) of plant components. Except for leaves of
L. racemosa
, nearly half the biomass of all other components of the two species
was composed of TOC. Statistically significant allometric relationships exist among TOC and dbh (diameter at breast height) of trees.
It was found that 96.5% of TOC in
L. racemosa
was in sequestered form (in the wood) compared to
B. gymnorrhiza
which only
accumulated 78.7% in sequestered form. Profuse branching of
L. racemosa
contributes to the higher carbon sequestration capacity.
Keywords
Allometric relationships, Carbon sequestration, Organic carbon; Mangroves
1 Introduction
1.1 Mangrove ecosystems
Mangrove forests are considered to be a unique and
complex components of coastal zones in the tropical
and sub-tropical regions. Their primary productivity is
characteristically high when compared to other
terrestrial plant communities (Alongi, 2002;
Amarasinghe and Balasubramaniam, 1992a; Kathiresan,
2007; Suratman, 2008 Khan et al., 2009) and
contribute substantially to all organic carbon
sequestration in marine ecosystems (Breithaupt et al.,
2012). Carbon that accumulates in the above-ground
components such as leaves, smaller branches and
non-woody aerial roots decomposes rapidly (i.e.,
labile carbon) and is quickly returned to the
atmosphere. Carbon that remains away from
atmosphere within plants for considerably a long time,
i.e. carbon in wood (stems and large branches) and
woody roots, both below-ground and aerial,
contributes to the carbon sequestration function of the
mangrove ecosystems.
1.2 Carbon sequestration capacity of mangroves
Carbon sequestration capacity of mangrove plants
depends on biomass/carbon partitioning pattern which
is characteristic to the species. Contribution of
mangrove plant species for carbon sequestration may
vary from species to species, for their inherent
capacities of primary production, storage pattern and
environmental conditions (Twilley et al., 1992). The
ratio between above to below ground biomass reflects
the distribution of biomass and carbon within the plant
and hence it provides a pragmatic measure of carbon
partitioning and sequestration capacity of respective
mangrove species. Carbon stored in below-ground
components are of significance in terms of