GROWTH AND MORTALITY OF SONNERATIA-CASEOLARIS PLANTED ON AN EXPERIMENTALLY OIL-POLLUTED SOIL

Two experiments conducted in the mangrove swamp of the Mahakam delta (East Kalimantan, Indonesia) provided two years continuous study of the growth and mortality rates of Sonneratia caseolaris planted upon an oil-polluted substrate. These experiments have shown that the plants were at first submitted to a mortality phase which can be attributed to the intense toxicity of the oil. During the study period, the influence of the pollutant could be seen in the decrease in growth-rate of the surviving plants. These results are in proportion with the quantity of oil spilt, and vary according to the different treatments applied several days after pollution and before planting. Absence of treatment however gives better results on the mortality and growth of Sonneratia caseoralis. © 1990.