Effects of environmental stresses on the responses of mangrove plants to spent lubricating oil

Ke, Lin; Zhang, Chunguang; Guo, Chuling; Lin, Guang Hui; Tam, Nora Fung Yee

Effects of environmental stresses on the responses of mangrove plants to spent lubricating oil

2011

Ke, Lin | Zhang, Chunguang | Guo, Chuling | Lin, Guang Hui | Tam, Nora Fung Yee

The influence of different environmental stresses, including salinity (5–35‰), tidal cycle (6/6, 12/12 and 24/24h of high/low tidal regimes) and nutrient addition (1–6 times background nitrogen and phosphorus content) on Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Aegiceras corniculatum grown in sediment contaminated with spent lubricating oil (7.5Lm⁻²) were investigated. The oil-treated 1-year-old mangrove seedlings subject to low (5‰) and high (35‰) salinity had significantly more reduction in growth, more release of superoxide radical (O₂ ⁻) and higher activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) than those subject to moderate salinity (15‰). Extended flooding (24/24h of high/low tidal regime) enhanced O₂ ⁻ release and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in both oil-treated species but had little negative effects on biomass production (P>0.05) except the stem of A. corniculatum (P=0.012). The addition of nutrients had no beneficial or even posed harmful effects on the growth and cellular responses of the oil-treated seedlings.

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