Growth And Regeneration Characteristics Of Sonneratia Caseolaris L Engl In Thuy Truong Commune Thai Thuy District Thai Binh Province

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Pham Minh

Toai for the continuous support of my thesis and related research, for his patience,

motivation, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me in all the time of research

and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for

my thesis.

Besides my advisor, I would like to say thank to Asso.Prof.Dr. Bui TheDoi,

Asso.Prof.Dr. Nguyen PhanThiet and Dr. Bui Xuan Dung who always gave me kindly

helps whenever I need in the time I studied at VFU.

My sincere thanks also go to Prof. Lee MacDonald, Prof. Steve Leisz who always

supported me, read all my email and tried to help as much as possible with all of their

enthusiasm.

I also dedicate my grateful for all the Doctors, Masters and Lecturers in VFU, who

gave me a lot of knowledge, favors as well as memories.

Another thank is for all the people in Thuy Truong commune who helped me in my

researching process.

I thank my fellow classmates for the stimulating discussions, for the sleepless

nights we were working together before deadlines, and for all the fun we have had in the

last four years.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents and to my

brothers and sister for supporting me spiritually throughout writing this thesis and my life

in general.

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ABSTRACT

Mangrove forest is one of the important ecosystems on earth that plays a role in

preventing natural disasters. Thuy Truong is a coastal commune that has a large area of

mangrove, with the availability of Sonneratia caseolaris as a big part of that important

ecosystem. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an in-depth understanding of how natural

factors can affect the growth and regeneration characteristics of Sonneratia caseolarisin

mangrove forest. Furthermore, based on data measured and topography make

recommendations for the authority or government to put efforts on mangrove forest

sustainable development, especially Sonneratia caseolarisspecies. To gain the knowledge

required for the thesis, a method of measure regeneration in gap and under canopy was

conducted. Results from investigation process indicate that growth and regeneration of

Sonneratia caseolaris in gap are more developed than one beneath canopy due to the

competition for spaces, light and nutrients.

Keyword: Sonneratia caseolaris, gap, regeneration, growth, measurement.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1

II. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ...........................................................................................4

III. STUDY SITE AND METHODS.....................................................................................5

3.1. Study site characteristic ..................................................................................................5

3.2. Study methods.................................................................................................................6

3.2.1. Secondary data collection ............................................................................................6

3.2.2. Field investigation........................................................................................................7

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................................................................14

4.1. Seedling density of Sonneratia caseolaris in study area ...............................................14

4.2. Tree height (Hvn) of Sonneratia caseolarisseedingsin the studied area .......................16

4.3. Tree Root collar diameter (Doo) of Sonneratia caseolaris seedlings in the studied area.... 17

4.4. Impacts of natural factors to the growth and regeneration of Sonneratia caseolaris

seedlings...............................................................................................................................18

4.4.1. Impacts of LAI to seedlings abundances beneath surrounding canopy.....................18

4.4.2. Impacts of gap size to seedlings abundance of studied species.................................19

4.4.3. Impacts of coastal zone to the proportion of studied species ....................................22

4.4.4. Impacts of coastal zone to seedling density...............................................................23

4.4.5. Impact of coastal zone to seedling quality.................................................................24

V. CONLUSIONS AND DICUSSION ...............................................................................26

5.1. Conclusions...................................................................................................................26

5.2. Suggestions...................................................................................................................27