Structure and production of Conocarpus erectus L. at the Ramsar Site "Manglares y Humedales de Tuxpan", Veracruz, Mexico

Conocarpus erectus L. is rarely reported specie in Mexico and its role in the mangrove ecosystem is not understood. In order to describe its ecological role within the community, it is necessary to learn about its attributes as species. The main objective of this study was to determine the distribution patterns, structural attributes, and functions of this species in the Ramsar Site No. 1602 "Manglares y Humedales de Tuxpan". Sampling took place from September 2005 to December 2006. For each site (Laguna de Tampamachoco y Estero de Jácome) a description of the distribution pattern of the mangrove species, the structural attributes (height, diameter at breast height, and basal area), and the productivity attributes (fallen leaves, flower, and miscellaneous) for Conocarpus erectus L. was made. A one way analysis of variance was carried out to determine if there were significant differences among the structural parameters, and the production. The distribution pattern shows this species is placed far away from the mangrove forest, in areas with no influence from the tides, and at the edge of the Jacome estuary and the Tampamachoco lagoon. We found 190 individuals with an average height of 3.1m (sd. 1.35), a 8.2 cm (DBH) (sd. 5.1), and a basal area of 0.598 m2/ha. The production was composed mainly by leaves (14.82 g/ m2/month). There were significant differences among sampling sites for height, DBH, basal area and productivity. This shows the heterogeneity of this species at the Ramsar site and may have implications regarding the role this species can play whithing the mangrove community. Conocarpus erectus L., es una especie poco descrita en México y su función dentro de ecosistema de manglar, no es aún comprendida. Para conocer el rol ecológico de esta especie en la comunidad, es necesario conocer sus atributos como especie; el presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar los patrones de distribución, atributos estructurales (altura, diámetro a la altura del pecho y área basal) y funcionales (producción de hojarasca, flor y misceláneos) de esta especie en el sitio Ramsar No. 1602 "Manglares y Humedales de Tuxpan". Los meses de muestreo comprendieron de septiembre 2005 a diciembre 2006. Los sitios de muestreo fueron en la Laguna de Tampamachoco y el Estero de Jácome, en Tuxpan, Veracruz; describiéndose el patrón de distribución, los atributos estructurales y los de producción de Conocarpus erectus L. Se realizó un análisis de varianza entre los parámetros e