Mangrove Forest Restoration in Andhra Pradesh, India - Global ...

M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation4.2.5. Selection of species and plantingBased on the salinity levels of soil, mangrove species namelyAvicennia marina, Avicennia officinalis and Excoecaria agallocha wereselected for planting in the degraded areas. Reason being that thesespecies could tolerate wide range of salinity. Normally the soil salinityof the degraded area is about 140 ppt during summer. To reduce thehigh soil salinity, tidal flushing was facilitated by constructing canalsas described in the previous pages. Due to this, the soil salts areslowly leached out and the soil salinity is reduced gradually. Thereduction in salinity improved the survival percentage and alsoreduced the saline stress to the young seedlings. The planting wasdone during October and November, after the southwest monsoon.During that period the rainwater reduces the salinity further. Thesalinity of the creek water is also low (about 10-15 ppt).Mangroves namelyAegiceras corniculatum,Bruguiera gymnorrhiza,Rhizophora apiculata,Rhizophora mucronataand Xylocarpusmoluccensis were alsoplanted to ensure genetic diversity. Eight-month-old mangrovesaplings raised in the nursery were used for planting. The mangrovesaplings were planted along the slopes (20-25 cm from the top) ofthe canals with a gap of 2 m.18