Relationships between height and girth of mangroves and soil‐water conditions in the Mary and Hawkesbury River estuaries, eastern Australia

The height and diameter at breast height (DBH) of mangroves on the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales and the Mary River, Queensland were related to soil‐water salinity, soil‐water content and distance from the mouth of the estuary. On the Hawkesbury River, both Avicennia marina and Aegiceras corniculatum declined in height and DBH with increasing soil‐water salinity and soil‐water content, and increased in height with distance from the mouth of the estuary. Both species showed an extensive range of all variables. On the Mary River, where species diversity was higher, no relationship was found between the height and DBH of A. marina and A. corniculatum and soil‐water salinity and soil‐water content. Both species increased in height with increasing distance from the mouth of the estuary, a characteristic shared with all other species studied ( Excoecaria agallocha, Ceriops tagal var. australis, Rhizophora stylosa ). The results suggest that growth characteristics of mangroves are not a simple response to salinity gradients in diverse systems and that other variables such as nutrient availability may be important controls on mangrove growth.