Review and analysis of mangrove litter production in Mexico: A contrasting regions approach

The mangrove ecosystem is recognized as one of the most productive worldwide; in most cases, this productivity has been quantified through the amount of leaf litter produced per unit area and time. However, there is a large variability in the values recorded for each latitudinal interval, which has been attributed to the diversity of local environmental characteristics. Managing leaf litter production data is the first consideration for the technical management of mangrove resources as an ecosystem. The present review (scientific articles, theses, reports, etc.) shows an analysis of the productivity of mangroves in Mexico, with the objective of synthesizing the knowledge of leaf litter production generated by different structural types of forests, described and explained according to environmental conditions. We consulted 68 publications, where the highest value of litterfall contribution (19.30 Mg/ha/year) was recorded in Atasta, Campeche, a semi-humid tropical region, and the lowest (1.75 Mg/ha/year) in Las Guá-simas, Sonora, a semi-arid subtropical region. The causal factors of leaf litter fall correspond mainly to precipitation, salinity, nutrients, structure, and physicochemical parameters of the interstitial water. It is important to increase and unify efforts between governmental agencies and research centers to generate and organize existing data on the mangrove’s primary productivity for a better understanding of the patterns and controls of the productivity and health of these coastal ecosystems.