Effect of different salt concentrations on the growth and biomass of Rhizophora apiculata seedlings

Abstract

Rhizophora apiculata Blume is very easy species to find and is widely distributed in mangroves. This study was purposed to determine the optimum salinity concentration for mangrove seedling growth as a reference when rehabilitating mangrove forests. The effect of salinity on the growth and development of R. apiculata mangrove seedling roots was carried out in the greenhouse, Universitas Sumatera Utara. This study used five levels of salinity concentration of 0%, 0.5%, 1.5%, 2%, and 3% with 10 replications. Parameter observations comprised of height, diameter, number of leaves, leaf thickness, leaf area, number of main roots, number of lateral roots, main root length, lateral root length, main root diameter, lateral root diameter, canopy water content, root moisture content, and canopy and root ratio. The most parameter of R. apiculata seedlings was at the salinity concentration level of 0.5%.