Litter fall data from mangroves in estuaries in northern Queensland

Litter fall data were collected from the estuaries of the Daintree River, Barron River, Crystal Creek and two sites in the Mackay area (McCready's Creek and Mount Bassett).Six litter catchers were deployed in each estuary except for Mackay, where 3 catchers were deployed at each site. Litter catchers were emptied monthly for a period of a year. Litter was identified to species where possible and for each taxa, the weight of leaves, stipules, wood, debris, buds, flowers, immature fruit and mature fruit was recorded. For the mangrove species Xylocarpus granatum and Xylocarpus mekongensis, the number of leaves, stipules, buds, flowers, immature fruit and mature fruit were also counted. This research was undertaken to examine seasonal litter fall in mangrove forests in northern Queensland.