Preliminary assessment of the regeneration status in Rekawa Mangroves, Sri Lanka. V.T.K. Dayarathna* and M.P.

Kumara2
1,2

Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Ocean University, Sri Lanka

Abstract Natural regeneration includes seedling recruitments and survivorship that repairs the damages in mangrove forests. Studies on mangrove regeneration in other countries have helped conservation and management objectives, however such studies are yet to be done in Sri Lanka. For filling this study gap, a regeneration study in 3 belt transects (10m wide) in Rekawa mangroves, Sri Lanka was conducted in June 2012. Seedlings, saplings and trees were recorded from 100m2 plots (1010m) from each transect along with their species and height. The individuals were classified in to four Regeneration Classes (RC): RC I (Seedlings less than 40 cm in height), RC II

(Saplings between 40 and 150 cm height), RC III (young trees with heights between 1.5 m and 4.0 m). The individuals above 4m were counted as adult trees. The densities of regeneration classes in transects were averaged in to per hectare ( ha-1) and those values were compared using KruskalWallis tests. The RCI density was significantly different (H = 7.20, df = 2, p < 0.05) while the RCII and RCIII were not significantly differed (H = 0.62, df = 2, p > 0.05 and H = 2.58, df = 2, p > 0.05 respectively) between the transects. The densities of the RCI were 8933439, 40672380 and 7086733058 seedlings ha-1 in the three transects while the established saplings (RCII) were 78333050, 80334479and 117338090 ha-1. The young tree density (RCIII) was 32001758, 14001039and 36333302 trees ha1 while the adult tree densities were 98003119, 74331250, 56002427, (ha-1). The established regeneration (30 to 150cm in height) were 95004293, 104334290 and 1573310555 individuals ha-1 where all the transects were above the recommended established regeneration value (2500 ha-1) for a mangrove healthy forest. Irrespective of grazing and cutting influences in some transects, all the studied transects in the Rekawa mangroves were well above the recommended regeneration criteria indicating adequate forest health.

Key Words: mangroves, regeneration, density, Rekawa, Sri Lanka Corresponding Author e mail: * sciencekelum@yahoo.com