Transplantation of seagrass, Halodule pinifolia (MIKI) DEN HARTOG: survival between mangrove and urban areas in Makampom Bay, Rayong Province, Thailand

Abstract

The plug technique to transplant seagrass, Halodule pinifolia (Miki) den Hartog was employed to conduct a study of seagrass survival in Makampom Bay, Rayong Province for 17 months from November 2007- Mar 2009. The survival of seagrass was investigated and compared between mangrove and urban areas in which 3 different sizes of seagrass patches, 4, 6 and 8 inches in diameter, and coconut fiber pots were used as important factors in this study. The monthly results revealed that the percentage of seagrass growth transplanted with the seagrass patch having a diameter of 6 inches in the mangrove area presented the highest growth of 247.9% compared with the diameter of 4 and 8 inches. In addition, the statistical analysis showed that the growth of seagrass in the mangrove area was significant higher than the urban area (p<0.05). When considering the supporting material in the transplant process, the plug technique having coconut fiber pots provided an insignificance difference of the seagrass survival comparing with the plug technique without coconut fiber pots (p>0.05). Moreover, the shoot density evaluation indicated that the maximum shoot density of 12036.8 + 5662.78 (Mean + SD) in the urban area was higher than the maximum shoot density of 11713.1 + 5308.81 in the mangrove area. However, the percentage of seagrass growth in this study showed a fluctuating manner depending on other environment factors such as soil sedimentation, inorganic materials, season and residual sewage. Therefore, to obtain the most benefit of the seagrass transplantation, the improvement of the marine environment and habitat should be considered carefully in relation to both natural and human factors.