Meadow maintenance, growth and productivity of a mixed Philippine seagrass bed

Leaf production, shoot demography and rhizome growth and branching were quantified for the common seagrass species Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, Syringodium isoetifolium and Halophila ovalis, in a mixed seagrass bed on the Bolinao reef flat (Luzon, the Philippines). Shoot recruitment, leaf turnover and horizontal rhizome elongation and branching rates were lower for species with older and larger shoots. Generally, shoot mortality and recruitment balanced each other fairly well. Vertical shoot elongation was not correlated with size or age. Leaf production dominated total annual productivity. This productivity was mainly due to T. hemprichii (74%). -from Authors