In situ experimental study of the toxicity of crude oil and 2 additives to Rhizophora mangle seedlings

Published source details Scherrer P., Blasco F. & Imbert D. (1989) Etude experimentale in situ de la toxicite du petrole brut et de 2 additifs envers les plantules de Rhizophora mangle. Environmental Technology Letters, 10, 323-332.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Introduce tree/shrub seeds or propagules: brackish/saline wetlands Action Link

Introduce tree/shrub seeds or propagules: brackish/saline wetlands

A replicated study in 1986–1987 in an experimentally degraded mangrove forest in Guadeloupe (Scherrer et al. 1989) reported >70% survival of planted red mangrove Rhizophora mangle propagules after approximately one year, and that the average height of saplings increased. Statistical significance was not assessed. Mangrove propagules were planted in oiled and non-oiled plots in March and July. After one year, the survival rate of propagules planted in oiled plots in July was 72–81% (data not reported for non-oiled plots). Across all treatments, healthy surviving saplings were 150–200 cm tall (vs 0 cm when planted as propagules). Saplings were 200–220 cm tall in non-oiled plots and 200–210 cm in plots sprayed with pure oil, compared to 150–180 cm in plots sprayed with oil and additives. Methods: In March and July 1986, mature, field-collected, red mangrove propagules were planted in four 2-m² plots (72 propagules/plot) in a tidal mangrove forest that had been cleared for the study. Six plots (three plots/month) had been sprayed with 5L/m² crude oil in early March. In four plots (two plots/month), the oil contained an additive (chemical dispersant, or a bioactivator to stimulate microbial activity). The height of healthy saplings (i.e. alive and not damaged by insects, crabs or falling branches) was measured every 50 days for approximately one year after planting.

(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)