Mangrove rehabilitation along urban coastlines: a Singapore case study

Published source details Friess D.A. (2017) Mangrove rehabilitation along urban coastlines: a Singapore case study. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 16, 279-289.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Restore/create brackish/saline marshes or swamps (multiple actions) Action Link

Restore/create brackish/saline marshes or swamps (multiple actions)

A site comparison study involving one mangrove creation site in Singapore (Friess 2017) reported that the average height of surviving trees increased over five years, but that above-ground biomass remained lower than in nearby natural mangrove forests after ≥15 years. Statistical significance was not assessed. After five years, surviving trees were 1.5–2.0 m tall (vs <0.45 m tall when sown or planted). After ≥15 years, the above-ground biomass in the created mangrove (36 t C/ha) was lower than in mature natural mangroves in the rest of Singapore (105–227 t C/ha). Methods: In 1996, a mangrove creation project was established on Pulau Semakau Island. Creation involved depositing ash and other waste materials between granite bunds, adding a 0.5–1.0 m thick layer of mangrove mud, planting propagules, planting nursery-reared seedlings, exposing acid soil to seawater to raise its pH, and removing barnacles and seaweed growing on seedlings. Both loop-root mangrove Rhizophora mucronata and tall-stilt mangrove Rhizophora apiculata were planted, at the elevations they occupied in nearby natural forests. This summary takes some methodological details from Tanaka et al. (2003). The date of biomass monitoring is not clear, but was likely in 2011 or later.
Additional Reference: Tanaka Y, Arita K, Yauchi E. 2003. A mangrove mitigation project in Singapore. Asia and Pacific Coasts 2003: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference, Makuhari, Japan, 256–257.

(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)