Mass Planting

This week, our study is focusing on the mass planting of propagules in the most conducive and positive growth areas. We have found that the planting area decisions have changed drastically since the beginning of our study. Initially, we hypothesized that planting in areas with more protection from the tide and closer to the shore was the best place for growth and sustainability. However, after a month of research, we have discovered that in fact the highest survival rate for the propagules is away from the mangroves in deeply rooted seaweed. The propagules are protected by the already existing root system from their own roots to their base.

In the past week or two, many propagules have been lost. We hope that by mass planting in groups of 20 or more, rather in groups of 4-7, the survival rate will increase. This will also give us a better understanding of the types of environments that are most conducive to growth.

Sixty Day Field Test

We have made the decision to move the previously thirty day field test to sixty days for several reasons. The first being the general growth of the mangrove propagules. Mangrove propagules have a forty day gestation period from the time the drop before they begin rooting. There is then a three week rooting process and potentially another five before the propagules begin to sprout leaves. In a thirty day test, the only results that would be visible would be the sustainability of a propagule which, although important, does not give the study enough information to find substantial results. If the study is to be shared with the community and surrounding schools, definitive data needs to be conducted on a much broader scale over a longer period of time.

Meeting with Nursery Representative

Today, we had a meeting with Patricia from the Nursery which grows various types of tropical plants for restoration. She was wildly impressed with our close tracking and observation of the 30 Day Field Study we created. Patricia gave us the name of a man, Pedro Martinez, who is a biologist working specifically with mangroves under her supervision. We plan to set up a time with him where we could map our site's topography, location and distance with GIS and GPS. She also suggested that we do thorough research on the identification of wildlife that we see in and around the mangroves, including vegetation, fish and other animals.

We conversed about the land ownership of the beaches, as in the Dominican Republic, beaches are not privately owned. However, she explained it would be useless to go through all the trouble to plant in front of properties that owners did not want the trees or did not understand the importance of the restoration because they would not respect the project and potentially undo all of our work. We hope that through connecting with the Ministry of the Environment our project will hold more weight in explaining the importance of the restoration. Another important factor she proposed that we had not yet considered, is artificial protection. This would mean physically moving rocks or coral to create barriers or even using a fenced in structure. We need to do more research on which of these potential barriers would be best suited for our specific sites.

Overall, the meeting with Patricia went well and she gave us positive feedback to continue our project. She also offered mangrove seedlings to us which we anticipate using for education purposes when we involve schools in the planting process.

First Week of Field Study

FIELD TEST EXPLANATION

For the next 30 days, we will be testing the growing environments of the propagules. By monitoring the best growing conditions in the environments and locations along the coastline that are most conducive to plant growth, we anticipate being able to better plant more seeds and propagules when we find access to them. Through taking note of all of the factors that could affect the growth of the propagule (substrate, submersion, shade, protection etc.) as well as human interaction and wildlife growth, we anticipate having a better understanding of the growing environment. On Monday's and Thursday's we will collect propagules that we find on the ground based on their availability. After, finding suitable environments in the area of the tree they came from we will plant and then monitor their growth weekly or note which ones have been lost. Every other Wednesday, we will observe the wildlife and human interactions with the sites to give us a better understanding of the external factors that may affect growth.

DAY 1: OBSERVATION 9/9/15

On Day 1, we walked the coastline and divided it into six sites, of which were named and numbered Pina, Kiwi, Guyaba, Papaya, Chinola, and Acai. During our walk, we counted propagule availability at each of the individual trees which we numbered as well. Thorough observation of which sites had high human interactions and which kinds of interactions also led to a better understanding of the individual sites themselves. We also noted what kinds of wildlife were at each site and proposed why that maybe.


DAY 2: PLANTING DAY- TH 9/10/15

On this day, we collected no more than 20 propagules per tree and planted them respectively. Spanned over the six sites, we had fourteen individual planting sites. Some sites had only two planting sites while other had up to five. Rather than looking at the wildlife, we took this day to focus on the lifecycles of the mangroves and proposed why certain trees were producing more propagules than others. On our way back from the end of the site, we found that a few of our planting sites had been completely washed away, leading us to conversations about the importance of the growing environment.

DAY 3: PLANTING DAY- MON 9/14/15

On Day 3, we took note of how many propagules had been lost and planted other propagules in areas that would isolate the effect of certain factors. For example, we planted 10 propagules at site 5 directly on the beach to see if the tide had any effect from crashing on the propagules as well as the effect of direct sunlight to see if they would dry out. As we proceed with our field study, we expect to narrow our study to which sites are truly the most successful and will begin planting more where the propagules seem to thrive.