Long-term growth and succession in restored and natural mangrove forests in southwestern Florida

We compared colonization, growth and succession from 1989 to 2000 in a restored mangrove site and in gap and closed canopy sites in a natural mangrove forest. The restored site was created in 1982 and planted with Rhizophora mangle (???2 m-2) propagules. By 1989, Laguncularia racemosa, with densities up to 12.9 tree m-2, was a dominant in all plots, although densities were greater at edge plots relative to inner plots, and near open water (west plots) relative to further inland (east plots), and in tall mangrove plots relative to scrub plots. Rhizophora mangle (1989 tree densities about 2 m-2) was a codominant in inner and scrub plots, while Avicennia germinans had the lowest densities (