Bioactivity of mangrove humic materials on Rizophora mangle and Laguncularia racemosa seedlings, Brazil

The mangrove sediments are rich in organic matter and humic substances, responsible for important functions such as reducing the toxicity of heavy metals, nutrient stabilization, serving as drain to atmospheric carbon and increasing the plant growth. In this study, we observed the effect of humic substances, humic acids and fulvic acids isolated from sediments of a mangrove forest, sampled from the Municipal Ecological Station Ilha do Lameirão (EEMIL, located in Vitória, Espírito Santo State, Brazil), on the growth and root acidification of Rizophora mangle and Laguncularia racemosa seedlings. For this, R. mangle and L. racemosa propagules were transferred to pots and then treated with different humic materials. The evaluation in root architecture change was performed by analyzing the main root axis length, lateral root length, density of lateral roots, fresh and dry mass weight of roots and estimated H+-ATPase activity by specific root acidification measurement. The results indicate that all humic materials extracted from mangrove organic matter were able to modify the root architecture systems of the studied plants. In addition to inducing an increase in the number of lateral roots and root branching, it also stimulated specific root acidification when compared to control groups. There is a good potential in developing technologies for the production of seedlings of mangrove plant species treated with biostimulants based in humic materials isolated from the mangrove ecosystem itself.Keywords: Humic substances, humic acids, fulvic acids, mangrov

Microbiological monitoring in two areas with different levels of conservation in the mangroves of an Ecological Station, Vitoria, ES

Mangroves are classified as permanent preservation areas and regarded as natural nurseries. However, they have suffered several anthropogenic stresses, resulting in their decline. In the light of that, comes the importance of researching their environmental characteristics and revealing possible factors that have led to the degradation of this important ecosystem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental quality of different areas in the mangroves of Ilha do Lameirão Ecological Station through microbiological analyzes of sediment and interstitial water along ten (10) sites, distributed in two areas with different conservation levels (Canal dos Escravos (CE) and Maria Ortiz (MO)) between 2010 and 2012. The microbiological analyzes revealed that MO region, in all seasons of the year, achieved total coliform and thermo-tolerant coliform values above those permitted by the CONAMA Resolution 357/05, fitting the Class 2 conservation standard. The presence of high levels of total and thermo-tolerant coliforms in MO is a strong indicator of impacts originated from the human population and, consequently, the decline of the mangrove itself and the health of human communities surrounding that area.