Mangrove swamps are highly important ecosystems due to their biodiversity, but they still are little studied. Soil heat fluxes (SHF) is one of the proprieties that interfere in the ecosystem microclimate and depends on lots of factors. An experimental study was carried out in a mangrove forest in the Marechal Deodoro city, in the State of Alagoas, from October/2004 to October/2005, with the aim of describing the SHF seasonal variation. To this end, an automatic weather station was assembled in a micrometeorological tower to register the data continuously. To measure SHF in 10 cm depth one battery with three (3) fluximeter model HFT3 (Campbell Scientific, EUA) was used so that the soil uniformity interference in the measurements was reduced. The obtained results showed influence of solar radiation, rainfall and tidal wave in the daily and seasonal SHF variation. A large SHF amplitude daily difference occurred between the wet (9 W m-2) and dry (36 W m-2) season.
lagunar complex; soil; tide; solar radiation
