What is it about?
Mangrove forests is biodiversity rich, and a major driver of nutrient cycle is decomposition. But with the presence of hydrocarbon pollution in the soil will this process be slowed or inhibited? This study showed that leaf decomposition is slowed but not stopped by pollution. In addition red mangrove leaves decomposed more than, black and white mangrove leaves.
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Why is it important?
Our study showed that within 1.24 years there was complete decomposition of mangrove leaves into humus despite the presence of hydrocarbon pollution. The implication is that mangrove system can thrive under low to medium level pollution because of the attenuating effect of tidal flushing, which reduces the toxicity of pollutants.
Perspectives
This publication is timely because most often global studies of mangrove ecosystem does not cover much of Africa, especially the Niger Delta mangroves in Nigeria because of lack of data. This study has thus provided results that will be helpful to the mangrove database.
Dr Aroloye O Numbere
University of Port Harcourt
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Mangrove leaf litter decomposition under mangrove forest stands with different levels of pollution in the Niger River Delta, Nigeria, African Journal of Ecology, July 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/aje.12335.
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