title: Structure, above-ground biomass and dynamics of mangrove ecosystems: new data from French Guiana.
abstract: The article presents new results on the structure and the above-ground biomass of the various population types of mangroves in French Guiana. Nine mangrove stands were studied, each composed of three to ten adjoining plots with areas that varied depending on the density of the populations. Structural parameters and indices were calculated. Individuals representative of the three groups of taxa present were felled:Avicennia germinans (L) Stearn, Rhizophora spp., and Laguncularia racemosa (L) Gaertn. The trunks, branches and leaves were sorted and weighed separately. The biomass was obtained by determining the allometric relationships, the general equation selected being of the type y = aoxa1, where the diameter (x) is the predictive variable. The total above-ground biomass varied from 31 t ha-1for the pioneer stages to 315 t ha-1for mature coastal mangroves, but with large variations depending on the structural characteristics at each site. The results place the Guianese mangroves among those with high biomass, although lower than those reported for Asia. Based on the relationships between structural parameters and standing biomass, in particular with the use of the "self-thinning rule", population dynamics models are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Terrestre, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS-UPS, 13 avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 4403-31405 Toulouse cedex, France Fax 33 5 61 55 85 44; e-mail: fromard@cesbio.cict.fr, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fromard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Terrestre, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS-UPS, 13 avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 4403-31405 Toulouse cedex, France Fax 33 5 61 55 85 44; e-mail: fromard@cesbio.cict.fr, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Puig
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etude Spatiale de la Biosphère, CNRS-UPS-CNES, Toulouse, France, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mougin
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etude Spatiale de la Biosphère, CNRS-UPS-CNES, Toulouse, France, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Terrestre, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS-UPS, 13 avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 4403-31405 Toulouse cedex, France Fax 33 5 61 55 85 44; e-mail: fromard@cesbio.cict.fr, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Betoulle
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Terrestre, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS-UPS, 13 avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 4403-31405 Toulouse cedex, France Fax 33 5 61 55 85 44; e-mail: fromard@cesbio.cict.fr, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cadamuro
keywords: Allometric relationships; Biomass; Key words Mangroves; Self-thinning rule; Structure