Importance of Mangrove Litter Production in the Protection of Atlantic Coastal Forest of Cameroon and Ghana - The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa - page 120

Importance of Mangrove Litter Production
in the Protection of Atlantic Coastal Forest
of Cameroon and Ghana

Sylvie Carole Ondo Ntyam, A. Kojo Armah, Gordon N. Ajonina,
Wiafe George, J. K. Adomako, Nyarko Elvis, and Benjamin O. Obiang

Abstract
For this study, litterfall and structural characteristics of mangrove forest in Ghana and
Cameroon were monitored from November 2008 to November 2010. The annual fluctuation
of litterfall mass and carbon stocks increased with increases in air temperature (Dry season).
During the study period, mean annual total litterfall production, mean carbon litterfall stocks
and density were, respectively, 3,035 g/m 2 , 12,454.15 g/m 2 and 24,500 stems/ha in Ghana
and 5,410 g/m 2 , 21,441.61 g/m 2 and 32,275 stems/ha in Cameroon. Litterfall biomass in both
countries was made up of more than 80 % leaves. It also appeared that the structural
development of the mangrove forest was positively related to the production of litterfall in
each country, indicating the importance of litterfall productivity in the general growth of
mangrove forest.

Keywords

Litterfall Productivity Mangrove Structural characteristics Protected areas

Introduction

Litterfall provides a significant contribution towards the
coastal food chain, keeping the coastal ecosystems in a
dynamic state through the intense biological activity which
accompanies its decomposition (Ochieng and Erftemeijer
2002 ; Raulerson 2004 ) Litterfall in mangrove ecosystems
represents an essential component of the organic produc-
tion-decomposition cycle and is, in many ways, a funda-
mental ecosystem process (Adriamalala 2007 ; Conchedda
et al. 2011 ). The major process by which the nutrient pool
of a mangrove ecosystem becomes enriched is the export of
decomposable organic matter, mostly in the form of plant
litter. Although data are fairly common on the biology and
ecology of mangrove plants around the world, there has
been no previous work on mangrove litterfall in the West
Central African region (World Bank 2004 ; Lovelock et al.
2005 ; Spalding et al. 2010 ).
This investigation aims at sustaining the importance/role
of mangrove litter production in the management and sta-
bilization of coastal and marine areas of Ghana and Cam-
eroon within the West and Central African Atlantic coast.
More specifically, the objectives were as follows: