Dissolved iron supply limits early growth of estuarine mangroves

Three mesocosm experiments were performed in an outdoor facility to quantify the responses of five mangrove species grown from seedling to sapling stage to increasing rates of dissolved iron supply. Stem extension and biomass of mangroves were measured in the first two experiments, and in the third experiment, rates of microbial iron reduction were measured in relation to stem extension of two mangrove species. In all experiments, mangrove growth was enhanced by increasing iron supply, although some species showed iron toxicity at the higher supply rates. In the first two experiments, stem extension rates of Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, and Xylocarpus moluccensis best fit Gaussian curves with maximal growth at supply rates of 50-60 mmol Fe x m(-2) x d(-1), whereas growth of Avicennia marina and Ceriops tagal increased to the highest rate (100 mmol Fe x m(-2) x d(-1)) of iron supply. Changes in leaf chlorophyll concentrations and iron content of roots mirrored the growth responses. In the third experiment, rates of microbial iron reduction were greater with R. apiculata and A. marina than in controls without plants; for both species, there was a positive relationship between stem extension and iron reduction. The rates of iron reduction and rates of iron supplied to the plants were well within the range of interstitial iron concentrations and rates of iron reduction found in the natural mangrove soils from which the seedlings were obtained. The responses of these species show that mangroves growing from seedling to sapling stage have a strong nutritional requirement for iron, and that there is a close relationship between plant roots and the activities of iron-reducing bacteria. These results suggest that mangrove growth may be limited in some natural forests by the rate at which iron is solubilized by iron-reducing bacteria. Such biogeochemical conditions have significant implications for successful recruitment, establishment, and early growth of mangroves.