GROWTH RATE AND SURVIVORSHIP OF RHIZOPHORA MUCRONATA, AVICENNIA MARINA, AND CERIOPS TAGAL SEEDLINGS WITH FRESHWATER AND SEAWATER TREATMENT FOR MANGROVE PROPAGATION IN NURSERIES

Mangroves play an important role in coastal ecosystems worldwide, performing vital functions like protecting coastlines, seagrass, and coral reefs, purification of water, trapping sediments, and providing nursery grounds for many terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Despite their importance, mangroves are threatened worldwide due to increasing human development in coastal areas, and therefore, efforts to restore degraded mangrove ecosystems have gained traction. Mangrove restoration requires specialized knowledge and skills, ranging from selecting seeds, to the planting of seedlings in nurseries and along degraded coastlines. The following study explores the survivorship and growth rate of seedlings of three mangrove species – namely Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata, and Ceriops tagal – in freshwater and seawater treatments. The experiment was conducted in a nursery-based environment to inform mangrove rehabilitation programs. Root count and length, leaf count and length, and the length of the entire seedling were measured for each sample species every week for 12 weeks. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA to identify significant differences in the measured variables between each species in the freshwater and seawater treatments. Seedlings grown in freshwater revealed a more rapid growth rate and lower mortality relative to those in seawater. Mangrove seedlings can be raised in nursery-based environments. They can be irrigated using freshwater with species like A. marina, less constrained by freshwater and hence display higher growth rates. Therefore, A. marina should be considered a priority species for mangrove restoration, given its relatively higher growth rate than the other species in the experiment.