Mangroves provide vital resources that sustain the livelihoods of rural Gambian communities. Since the 1970s, these ecosystems have been replaced by dry and hypersaline mudflats void of vegetation. This study provides an understanding of Avicennia germinans’ natural regeneration processes in association with Sesuvium portulacastrum on the degraded mudflats by reporting the nursing effect of S. portulacastrum. A transplantation experiment looking at transplanted A. germinans seedlings’ survival over two months addressed intraspecific (density effect) and interspecific (S. portulacastrum effect) facilitation. Results report evidence for interspecific facilitation on A. germinans’ natural regeneration and survival of transplanted seedlings attributed to S. portulacastrum’s shading effect, moisture retention and desalination capacity. While trends suggest a lesser intraspecific facilitation effect, a 94% mortality rate among all transplanted seedlings highlights the need to reduce transplantation stress by adapting seedlings to mudflats’ soil conditions, and planting in the rainy season. A novel experiment assessed the response of S. portulacastrum to transplantation along a gradient of abiotic pressure. Although all transplants showed declining health over two months due to cattle grazing, some resilience was observed. Finding appropriate transplantation methods could improve the success of this promising restoration technique that would promote A. germinans’ natural recovery on degraded mudflats.
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