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 133

Fig. 15 Carbon stocks in litterfall in Cameroon and Ghana

carbon stock, coastal and marine resources will continue to
have an essential nursery habitat. The coastline will also be
more protected and stabilized. Therefore, there is a need to
step up sustainable management of this vital mangrove
ecosystem. This could be achieved by participatory man-
agement approach where all stakeholders, especially the
local communities are involved in the coastal and marine
areas of Ghana and Cameroon.

Conclusion

Mangrove forests form the interface between marine and
terrestrial environments. They are also recognized as essen-
tial nursery habitat for a diverse community of fish, which
find protection and abundant food in these environments,
especially during their early stages (FAO 2007 ). Mangroves
litterfall are useful contributors of nutrient mass in a man-
grove environment and contain sufficient amounts of min-
erals, vitamins and amino acids, which are essential for the
growth and nourishment of marine organisms and livestock
(Ajonina 2008 ; Egnankou Wadja 2009 ; Spalding et al. 2010 ).
The quantitative findings from the present study indicate
in both countries that: (1) the major leaf litterfall, flowering
and fruiting of R. racemosa and A. germinans and mixed
stands were mainly in the dry season. (2) Leaf production
was continuous throughout the study period. (3) The mean
annual total litterfall and the carbon stocks of mean total
litterfall were, respectively, higher in Cameroon (5,410 and
21,441.61 g/m 2 ) than in Ghana (3,035 and 12,454.15 g/m 2 ).
(4) The mangrove forest in Cameroon had a higher tree
density (32,275 stems/ha) than in Ghana (24,500 stems/ha).
(5) The highest peak of carbon stocks mainly appeared in the
dry season in both countries. It was also shown that, Cam-
eroon with high total mean biomass of litterfall showed also
high-carbon content. (6) The mangrove forest in Cameroon
seemed to be more developed and productive.
From the results it appeared that, the litter fall production
was strongly correlated with forest structure parameters,
such as DBH, tree height, density and basal area. As forest
structural characteristics decreased, litterfall production and
carbon stocks also decreased.
The findings of this study demonstrate as well, that rel-
ative high production values of mangrove litterfall pro-
duction in the coastal zones of Ghana and Cameroon
continue to increase, as well as structural parameters and

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