Supporting Information Legends to Fig. S1, Table S1 and References to Table S1
Fig. S1 The surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) system is used to measure
elevation change and accretion in mangrove forests. (a) SET in a mangrove forest in Belize. The
measuring arm is attached to a benchmark rod and leveled; pins are lowered to the soil surface
and the distance above the arm is recorded on each measurement date. (b) Close-up of pins
resting on the soil surface. (c) A core showing accretion of sediment and organic material above
a marker horizon of feldspar clay. Image credit: US Geological Survey, K. L. McKee,
photographer.
Table S1 Summary of studies that assess the effects of a range of plant traits that may influence
elevation change in mangrove forests. Most studies have focused on species effects on plant
traits, root growth, and allocation to roots, with far fewer studies on plant traits that influence
the loss of root volume.
References, Table S1
Alongi DM, Wattayakorn G, Boyle S, Tirendi F, Payn C, Dixon P. 2004. Influence of roots and
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Ball MC. 1988. Salinity tolerance in mangroves Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina. I.
Water use in relation to growth, carbon partitioning, and salt balance. Australian Journal of
Plant Physiology 15: 447–464.
Ball MC. 2002. Interactive effects of salinity and irradiance on growth: Implications for
mangrove forest structure along salinity gradients. Trees 16: 126–139.
Ball MC, Pidsley SM. 1995. Growth responses to salinity in relation to distribution of two
mangrove species, Sonneratia alba and S. lanceolata, in Northern Australia. Functional
Ecology 9: 77–85.
Brooks RA, Bell SS. 2002. Mangrove response to attack by a root boring isopod: Root repair
versus architectural modification. Marine Ecology Progress Series 231: 85–90.
Burchett MD, Field CD, Pulkownik A. 1984. Salinity, growth and root respiration in the grey
mangrove, Avicennia marina. Physiologia Plantarum 60: 113–118.
Cardona-Olarte P, Twilley RR, Krauss KW, Rivera-Monroy VH. 2006. Responses of neotropical
mangrove seedlings grown in monoculture and mixed culture under treatments of
hydroperiod and salinity. Hydrobiologia 569: 325–341.
Castañeda-Moya E, Twilley RR, Rivera-Monroy VH, Marx BD, Coronado-Molina C, Ewe SML.
2011. Patterns of root dynamics in mangrove forests along environmental gradients in the
Florida coastal Everglades, USA. Ecosystems 14: 1178–1195.
Cheng H, Chen D-T, Tam NF-Y, Chen G-Z, Li S-Y, Ye Z-H. 2012. Interactions among Fe2+, S2-, and
Zn2+ tolerance, root anatomy, and radial oxygen loss in mangrove plants. Journal of
Experimental Botany 63: 2619–2630.
Clough B. 1984. Growth and salt balance of the mangroves Avicennia marina (forsk.) vierh. and
Rhizophora stylosa griff. in relation to salinity. Functional Plant Biology 11: 419–430.
Cormier N. 2003. Belowground productivity in mangrove forests of Pohnpei and Kosrae,
Federated States of Micronesia. MS Thesis, Louisiana, USA: University of Louisiana at
Lafayette.
Ellison AM, Farnsworth EJ. 1997. Simulated sea level change alters anatomy, physiology,
growth, and reproduction of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle L.). Oecologia 112: 435–446.
Feller IC, McKee KL, Whigham DF, O’Neill JP. 2003. Nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation across
an ecotonal gradient in a mangrove forest. Biogeochemistry 62: 145–175.
Gill AM, Tomlinson PB. 1977. Studies on the growth of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle L.). 4.
The adult root system. Biotropica 9: 145–155.
Giraldo Sánchez BE. 2005. Belowground productivity of mangrove forests in Southwest Florida.
Ph.D. Dissertation. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University.
Lu WZ, Chen LZ, Wang WQ, Tam NFY, Lin GH. 2013. Effects of sea level rise on mangrove
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and greenhouse manipulation experiment. Acta Oecologica 49: 83–91.
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growth in New Zealand estuaries: The role of nutrient enrichment at sites with contrasting
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McKee KL. 1993. Soil physicochemical patterns and mangrove species distribution- reciprocal
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McKee KL. 1995. Interspecific variation in growth, biomass partitioning, and defensive
characteristics of neotropical mangrove seedlings: Response to light and nutrient availability.
American Journal of Botany 82: 299–307
McKee KL. 1996. Growth and physiological responses of neotropical mangrove seedlings to root
zone hypoxia. Tree Physiology 16: 883–889.
McKee KL. 2001. Root proliferation in decaying roots and old root channels: A nutrient
conservation mechanism in oligotrophic mangrove forests? Journal of Ecology 89: 876–887.
McKee KL, Cahoon DR, Feller IC. 2007. Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through
biotic controls on change in soil elevation. Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 545–556.
Middleton BA, McKee KL. 2001. Degradation of mangrove tissues and implications for peat
formation in Belizean island forests. Journal of Ecology 89: 818–828.
Naidoo G. 1990. Effects of nitrate, ammonium and salinity on growth of the mangrove
Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (L.) lam. Aquatic Botany 38: 209–219.
Pezeshki SR, DeLaune RD, Patrick WH Jr. 1990. Differential response of selected mangroves to
soil flooding and salinity: Gas exchange and biomass partitioning. Canadian Journal of Forest
Research 20: 869–874.
Pezeshki SR, DeLaune RD, Meeder JF. 1997. Carbon assimilation and biomass partitioning in
Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle seedlings in response to soil redox conditions.
Environmental and Experimental Botany 37: 161–171.
Pi N, Tam NFY, Wu Y, Wong MH. 2009. Root anatomy and spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss
of eight true mangrove species. Aquatic Botany 90: 222–230.
Pi N, Tam NFY, Wong MH. 2011. Formation of iron plaque on mangrove roots receiving
wastewater and its role in immobilization of wastewater-borne pollutants. Marine Pollution
Bulletin 63: 402–411.
Poorter H, Niklas KJ, Reich PB, Oleksyn J, Poot P, Mommer L. 2012. Biomass allocation to
leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control.
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Poret N, Twilley RR, Rivera-Monroy VH, Coronado-Molina C. 2007. Belowground
decomposition of mangrove roots in Florida coastal Everglades. Estuaries and Coasts 30: 491–
496.
Robertson AI, Daniel PA. 1989. Decomposition and the annual flux of detritus from fallen
timber in tropical mangrove forests. Limnology and Oceanography 34: 640–646.
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Marine and Freshwater Research 48: 601–604.
Saintilan N. 1997b. Above- and below-ground biomasses of two species of mangrove on the
Hawkesbury River estuary, New South Wales. Marine and Freshwater Research 48: 147–152.
Sherman RE, Fahey TJ, Martinez P. 2003. Spatial patterns of biomass and aboveground net
primary productivity in a mangrove ecosystem in the Dominican Republic. Ecosystems 6: 384–
398.
Simberloff D, Brown BJ, Lowrie ES. 1978. Isopod and insect root borers may benefit Florida
mangroves. Science 201: 630–632.
Smith SM, Snedaker SC. 1995. Salinity responses in two populations of viviparous Rhizophora
mangle L. seedlings. Biotropica 27: 435–440.
Ye Y, Gu YT, Gao HY, Lu CY. 2010. Combined effects of simulated tidal sea-level rise and salinity
on seedlings of a mangrove species, Kandelia candel (L.) Druce. Hydrobiologia 641: 287–300.
Ye Y, Tam NFY, Wong YS, Lu CY. 2003. Growth and physiological responses of two mangrove
species (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Kandelia candel) to waterlogging. Environmental and
Experimental Botany 49: 209–221.
Ye Y, Tam NFY, Wong YS, Lu CY. 2004. Does sea level rise influence propagule establishment,
early growth and physiology of Kandelia candel and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza? Journal of
Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 306: 197–215.
Youssef T, Saenger P. 1996. Anatomical adaptive strategies to flooding and rhizosphere
oxidation in mangrove seedlings. Australian Journal of Botany 44: 297–313.