Abstract
Around one-third of the world's most carbon-rich ecosystems, mangrove forests, have already been destroyed in Thailand owing to coastal development and aquaculture. Improving these degraded areas through mangrove plantations can restore various coastal ecosystem services, including CO(2) absorption and protection against wave action. This study examines the biomass of three coastal mangrove plantations (Avicennia alba) of different ages in Samut Prakarn province, Central Thailand. Our aim was to understand the forest biomass recovery during the early stages of development, particularly fine root biomass expansion. In the chronosequence of the mangrove plantations, woody biomass increased by 40% over four years from 79.7 ± 11.2 Mg C ha(-1) to 111.7 ± 12.3 Mg C ha(-1). Fine root biomass up to a depth of 100 cm was 4.47 ± 0.33 Mg C ha(-1), 4.24 ± 0.63 Mg C ha(-1), and 6.92 ± 0.32 Mg C ha(-1) at 10, 12, and 14 year-old sites, respectively. Remarkably, the fine root biomass of 14-year-old site was significantly higher than those of the younger sites due to increase of the biomass at 15-30 cm and 30-50 cm depths. Our findings reveal that the biomass recovery in developing mangrove plantations exhibit rapid expansion of fine roots in deeper soil layers.