Ecological indicators showing the succession of macrofauna communities in Sonneratia apetala artificial mangrove wetlands on Qi'ao Island at Zhuhai, South China

The Sonneratia apetala artificial mangroves in the intertidal zone of Da Wei Bay at Qi’ao Island of Zhu-hai, South China were chosen as the macrofauna succession plots while bare tidal flats of the same size were established as control plots in surrounding interference-free areas. Conventional change indicators of community structure, such as biomass and biodiversity, and indicators, such as exergy and specific exergy, which reflect the information change of overall communities, were used to analyze the succession of macro-fauna communities inS. apetala artificial mangroves. The similarities and differences in variation tendency of the different ecological indicators and their reflected ecological principles were compared. The results showed that from D-1 to D-1275 after plantingS. apetala, the biomass of the macrofauna communities first increased, which was then followed by an increase in the network relationship between the macrofauna communities （analysis of the Pielou evenness index and Shannon-Wiener diversity index）. The system in-formation （specific exergy） increased the slowest. Between D-1460 and D-2370 after plantingS. apetala, there was a decrease in biomass, network structure, and system information in the succession plots. After the decrease in the system information （the specific exergy）, there was a decline in the network relationships （Pielou evenness index and Shannon-Wiener diversity index）. Biomass was the last indicator to decrease. The similarities and differences among the different ecological indicators varied during the succession pro-cess, which reflected the relativity and differences among the indicators. This study suggested that, although the species diversity index can be an effective indicator of two types of changes （network structure and system information）, it was quite clear that species diversity measurement was not suitable for expressing the changes in biomass during the succession process. While exergy and specific exergy can provide useful information about the structural development of communities, they cannot identify the information state of the system. Therefore, when evaluating macrofaunal succession inS. apetala artificial mangrove wetlands, it would be better to apply a number of different ecological indicators, rather than just one single indicator.

Ecological influence of exotic plants of Sonneratia apetala on understory macrofauna

The study aims to compare the differences of macrofauna communities of wetlands at 3-year-forest- age, 5-year-forest-age Sonneratia apetala artificial mangroves, 5-year-forest-age Kandelia candel ar- tificial mangroves with the same restoration background, and the naked tidal flat in the Qi’ao Island Mangrove Nature Reserve of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. The results show that there were signif- icant structural differences in macrofauna communities among four kinds of habitats. The increase of biomass and species diversity of macrofauna at 3-year-forest-age S. apetala artificial mangroves was obviously faster than that at 5-year-forest-age K. candel artificial mangroves whose average tree height was close to that of 3-year-forest-age S. apetala artificial mangroves. The BIOENV analysis shows that it was related to the rapid growth of S. apetala, which rapidly changed the light level and shading conditions in the forests. The 5-year-forest-age S. apetala artificial mangroves had lower macrofauna species diversity but higher density and biomass than K. candel artificial mangroves with the same forest age. This was due to the rapid changes of physical and chemical properties of habitat soil by the ecological restoration of S. apetala artificial mangroves as well as the changed food sources possibly caused by the leaf-litter of such non-indigenous mangrove species S. apetala. However, further survey should be conducted on whether there are any negative ecological impacts of large-scale cultivation of S. apetala on macrofauna communities, so as to evaluate correctly S. apetala’s role in the restoration of coastal mangrove ecosystems.

Estimating Change in Sedimentary Organic Carbon Content During Mangrove Restoration in Southern China Using Carbon Isotopic Measurements

Based on total carbon(C) and C isotopes in sediment cores,sedimentary organic carbon(SOC) was quantified in three types of mangrove sites(barren flat sites without mangroves,mangrove plantations,and natural mangrove forests),which were considered to represent a continuum from least restored to most restored sites in southern China.SOC densities in the barren sites,plantations,and natural forests were 90,170 and 288 Mg ha 1,respectively.We inferred that mangrove restoration increased SOC accumulation in coastal areas.At 0-70 cm depth,SOC δ 13 C values in both mangrove sites ranged from 27.37‰ to 23.07‰ and exhibited gradual enrichment with depth.In contrast,the values in the barren flat sites remained around 22.19‰ and fluctuated slightly with depth.At 0-60 cm,the 14 C ages of the SOC in the barren flat site,the natural mangrove site,and the artificial mangrove site ranged from 1 397 to 2 608,255 to 2 453,and 391 to 2 512 years BP,respectively.In both types of mangrove sites but not in the barren flat sites,the enrichment of δ 13 C with depth was related to increases in SOC decay and SOC age with depth.According to analysis of 14 C age,much of the mangrove-derived C was transported and stored at 0-60 cm depth under anaerobic conditions in both mangrove sites.The sediments of mangrove forests in southern China sequester large quantities of SOC during mangrove restoration.