Home⇛Annals of Tropical Research⇛vol. 33 no. 2 (2011)

Growth and Survival of Mangrove Seedlings under Different Levels of Salinity and Drought Stress

Nit Lyn B. Estomata | Pamela P. Abit

 

Abstract:

Water availability and salinity are determinants of growth, survival and establishment of mangrove species. This study aimed to compare the ability of the mangrove species to survive extreme water stress, and to determine differences in growth performance and biomass allocation between mangrove species grown in different water levels and saline conditions. Seedlings of Lumnitzera racemosa, Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata and Avicennia marina were used. A dry-down experiment was done to compare the ability of mangrove species from different zonations to survive drought stress by evaluating survival rates after re-watering consequent to drought exposure. The different mangrove species were grown at different water levels (dry, well-watered, flooded) and different salinity levels such as low (3-5 ppt), high (25-27 ppt) and pure seawater (32 ppt) to evaluate the growth performance and biomass allocation of the mangrove seedlings. L. racemosa was the most drought tolerant, followed by R. mucronata and A. marina while R. apiculata was the most drought sensitive. There is a possibility that A. marina may displace the current distribution of R. apiculata in the middle zone while the distribution of L. racemosa and R. mucronata in the landward and middle zone, respectively could be retained. The number of leaves of A. marina was significantly higher than R. apiculata and R. mucronata but was only comparable to that of L. racemosa across all salinity levels. L. racemosa was only significantly different from the two Rhizophora spp. under pure saline treatment. Root length of A. marina was significantly higher than R. apiculata but statistically similar to R. mucronata and L. racemosa. The capacity for root growth may allow roots to exploit water from dry soils and could correspond to the drought tolerance of A. marina, R. mucronata and L. racemosa. There was no significant effect of water and salinity stresses on the biomass allocation.



References:

  1. ABIT, P. P. 2008. Ecological and Physiological Basis for the Distribution of Woody Plants along Water Availability Gradients in the Southeastern United States Mixed Forest. PhD Thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
  2. ALLEN, J. A., K. W. KRAUSS, and R. D. HAUFF. 2003. Factors limiting the intertidal distribution of the mangrove species Xyclocarpus granatum. Oecologia 135:110-21.
  3. BALL, M. C. 1996. Comparative Ecophysiology of Mangrove Forest and Tropical Lowland Moist Rainforest. Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology. Chapman and Hall, pp. 461-487.
  4. BALL, M. C. and S. M. PLIDSLEY. 1995. Growth responses to salinity in relation to distribution of two mangrove species Sonneratia alba and S. lanceolata in Northern Australia. Functional Ecol. 9(1):77-85.
  5. BALL, M. C. and G. D. FARQUHAR. 1984. Photosynthetic and stomatal responses of two mangrove species, Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina to Long-term salinity and humidity conditions. Plant Physiol. 74:1-6
  6. BIBER, P. D. 2006. Measuring the effects of salinity stress in the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle L. African Journal of Agricultural Rev. Hydrobiology 1(1):1-4.
  7. BOTO, K. G. 1987. Nutrient and Organic fluxes in Mangrove Ecosystems in Australia. Australian National University Press, Canberra, pp. 239-257.
  8. CALUMPONG, H. P. and E. G. MENEZ 1997. Field Guide to the common Mangrove Seagrasess and Algae of the Philippines, pp. 1-10.
  9. CHAVEZ, M. M., J. P. MOROCCO, and J. S. PEREIRA. 2003. Understanding plant responses to drought from genes to the whole plant. Functional Plant Biology 30: 239-264.
  10. CLARK, J. R. 1992. Integrated Management Zone. FAO Fisheries Technical paper no. 327:26.
  11. CLARKE, P. J., R. A. KERRIGAN, and C. J. WESTPHAL. 2001. Dispersal potential and early growth in 14 tropical mangroves: do adult early life history traits correlate with patterns of adult distribution? J. Ecol. 89:648-659.
  12. CLARKE, P. J. and P. J. MYERSCOUGH. 1993. The intertidal distribution of the grey mangrove (Avicennia marina) in Southeastern Australia: The effects of physical conditions, interspecific competition, and predation on propagule establishment and survival. Austral. Ecol. 18:307-315.
  13. CV-CIRRD (Central Visayas Consortium for Integrated Regional Research and Development). 1993. Mangrove production and management. Central Visayas Technology Transfer Guide, CV-CIRRD, Cebu City, Philippines. pp. 5-8.
  14. DAWNES, C. J. 1998. Marine Botany, 2nd ed. University of South Florida Tampa, Florida. pp 84-87.
  15. DODD, G. L. and L. A. DONOVAN. 1999. Water potential and ionic effects on germination and seedling growth of two cold desert shrubs. American Journal of Botany 86:1146-1153.
  16. DOUBENMIRE, R. F. 1974. Plants and Environment, 3rd ed. A textbook of Plant Autecology. Washington State University. pp 47-56.
  17. ΕΝΟΚΙ, Τ., M. VEDA, D. NANKI, R. SUWA, and A. HAGHARA. 2009. Distribution and stem growth patterns of mangrove species along the Nakara River in Iriomote Island, Southern Japan. J. For. Res. 14:51-54.
  18. ENGELBRECHT, B. M. J. and T. A. KURSAR. 2003. Comparative drought resistance of seedlings of 28 species of co-occuring tropical woody plants. Oecologia 136:383-393.
  19. ENGELBRECHT, B. M. J., J. W. DALING, T. R. PEARSON, R. L. WAF, D.A. GALVEZ, T. KOEJILER, M. T. TYREE, and T.A. KURSAR. 2006. Short dry spells in the wet season increase mortality of tropical pioneer seedlings. Oecologia 141:258-269.
  20. ELAMRY, M. 1998. Population structure, demography and life tables of Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. at sites on the eastern and western coasts of United Arab Emirates. Marine Freshwater Res. 49(4):303-308.
  21. FRY, S. C., R. C. SMITH, K. F. RENWICK, D. J. MARTIN, and S. K. HODGE. 1992. Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase, a new wall-loosening enzyme activity from plants. Biochem J. 282:821-828.
  22. HODGKISS, I. J. 1986. Aspects of mangrove ecology in Hongkong. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural Society 17:107-116.
  23. KATHERISAN, K. 1996. Ecology and environment of mangrove ecosystems. Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology Annamalai University. pp. 101-106.
  24. KATHERISAN, K and N. RAJENDAN. 2002. Growth of a mangrove (Rhizophora apiculata) seedlings as influenced by GA3, light and salinity. Rev. Biol. Trop. 50(2):525-530.
  25. KRAUSS, K. W., C. E. LOVELOCK, K. L. MCKEE., L. L. HOFFMAN., S. M. L. EWE, and W. P. SOUSA. 2008. Environmental drivers in mangrove establishment and early development: A review. Aquatic Botany
  26. LIN, L. M. and L. S. L. STERNBERG. 2007. Nitrogen and phosphorus dynamic and nutrient resorption of Rhizophora mangle leaves in South Florida, USA. Bulletin of Marine Science 80(1):159-169.
  27. LIN, G. and L. S. L. STERNBERG. 1993. Effects of salinity fluctuation on photosynthetic gas exchange and plant growth of the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). J. of Experimental Botany 44:9-16
  28. LAMBERS, H., F. S. Chapin III, and L. T. PONS. 1998. Plant Physiological Ecology. Springer-Verlag, p. 110.
  29. MELANA, E. E. and H. I. GONZALES. 1996. Field Guide to the Identification of some Mangrove species in the Philippines. DENR Region VII. p. 1.
  30. MUNNS, R. 2002. Comparative physiology of salt water and water stress. Plant Cell and Environment 25:239-250.
  31. PRIMAVERA, J. H., R. B. SADABA, and M. J. H. L. LEBATA, and J. P. ALTAMIRANO. 2004. Handbook of Mangroves in the Philippines Panay. SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, Iloilo, Philippines. pp. 5-8.
  32. PRITCHARD, J. 1994. The control of cell expansion in roots. New Phytol. 127:3-27.
  33. SLOT, M., and L. POORTER. 2007. Diversity of seedling response to drought. Biotropica 39(6):683-690.
  34. SHAN, L., Z. RENCHAO, D. SUISUI, and S. SUHUA. 2008. Adaptation to salinity in mangrove: Implication on the evolution of salt-tolerance. Science in China Press Springer 53:11.
  35. TAIZ, L and E. ZEIGER. 1998. Plant Physiology 2nd edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers. Sunderland, Massachusetts. p. 128.
  36. TYREE, M. T., B. M. J. ENGELBRECHT, G. VARGAS, and T.A. KURSAR. 2003. Desiccation tolerance of five tropical seedlings in Panama: Relationship to a field assessment of drought performance. Plant Physiology 132:1439-1447.
  37. UEDA, A. and M. KANECHI. 2003. Photosynthetic limitations of a halophyte sea aster (Aster trifolium L.) under water stress and NaCl stress. J. Plant. Res. 116:65-70.
  38. YE, J., N. F. Y. TAM, C. Y. LU, and Y. S. WONG. 2005. Effects of salinity on germination, seedling growth and physiology of the three salt- secreting mangrove species. Aquatic Botany 83(3):193-205 (3).

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic