Len Webb Ecological Images Collection
 Image No. 8-7 |
Life Forms -- Root SystemsPlank buttresses (Heritiera littoralis)Coopers Creek north of Daintree, Queensland November 1965 Larger image (145K) |
Tropical mangrove closed forest.
Len Webb Ecological Images Collection
Thin plank buttresses of the mangrove Heritiera littoralis, related to tropical and subtropical rainforest canopy tree species of Argyrodendron (formerly Tarrietia). Functions of plank buttresses include aeration of the root tissues, of which the buttresses are an upward extension, and in typically shallow-rooted trees to provide mechanical support for the trunk. There are, however, anomalies, all discussed by Richards, Paul W. (1996) The Tropical Rain Forest: An Ecological Study. 2nd ed. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Image No. 8-7Life Forms -- Root Systems
Plank buttresses (Heritiera littoralis)
Coopers Creek north of Daintree, Queensland
November 1965
Larger image (145K)
Tropical mangrove closed forest.