Nursery Techniques and Primary Growth of Rhizophora apiculata Plantation in Coastal Area, Central Vietnam

There are more than 3,200 km shoreline and 3,000 islands with more than 408,000 ha of mangrove forests in Vietnam. A total of 77 mangrove species were found in Vietnam including Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata, R. stylosa, Kandelia candel, Avicennia alba, Sonneratia caseolaris. The mangrove forests have been dramatically reduced because of increasing in population, food demand, aquaculture development, and urbanization. In this study, research on techniques for producing seedlings and establishing Rhizophora apiculata Bl. plantation was conducted in coastal area, central Vietnam. Results indicated that to produce healthy seedlings 50% length of fruit shoot must be fixed to plastic bags and 10‰ salinity water must be used for daily watering. In addition, 5-month-old seedlings must be sea-watered for a duration of at least one month at nursery before planting. R. apiculata is an opportunistic invader in coastal area central Vietnam, since it can grow in new mudflats. In low tidal areas as tide happens 100 – 299 days/year with water depth of 0.2 – 0.3 m in 4 – 8 hours/day, 36-month-old planted trees achieved 187.7 cm tall, 4.2 cm stump diameter, and 41.8 prop-roots per tree. It is recommended that selecting suitable mangrove tree species for planting in new mudflats is important for the success of mangrove afforestation program.