More mangroves threaten Cordova’s ecosystem

There should be no more planting of mangroves in oil spill-affected areas in Cordova town, Cebu, a university professor recommended yesterday.

Resurrecion Sadaba, a faculty member of the Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), said that mangrove planting in the affected areas months after the incident proved to be problematic.

“There had been planting at the wrong sites, mostly very few species. But sea grass beds should not be turned into mangrove sites,” he said during a presentation at the Capitol yesterday.

Sadaba presented his assessment on the effects of stranded oil in the mangroves of Cordova town, along with others from UPV who conducted different studies in April this year.

The professor said sea grass beds are usually sandy, but they turn muddy once mangroves are planted, which, in effect, will kill the grass.

Sea grass meadows serve as habitat, refuge, nursery, and feeding grounds for valuable marine resources inhabiting the ecosystem.

Furthermore, he added that there were cases where the seedlings were planted with the plastic bag still attached around it.

“The right thing to do is remove the plastic and then plant it, not just leave it there with the plastic still intact,” said Sadaba.

Sadaba recommended that there should be “no more planting at all” as new growth has been spotted among the mangrove areas highly affected by the oil spill when he conducted his study in April.

Sadaba pointed out in his presentation that he saw new pneumatophore growth in the areas, which is an indication of recovery.

“We should allow nature to recover on its own,” he said.

Pneaumatophores are a specialized structures developed from the roots in certain plants growing in swamps or marshes, which include mangroves.

New lenticels along the mangrove trees’ barks have started to grow, another indication of recovery.
“We see new ones developing already. This is an adaptation of the trees to allow them to survive the stress,” said Sadaba.

Lenticels serve as passageways for gases to enter and nourish the plant. With oil blocking these passageways, the plants are suffocated and then die.

Sadaba said that oil-covered barks are slowly flaking off, growing new ones, and that no plant deaths have been reported as of April this year.

An oil spill occurred after the sinking of the M/V Thomas Aquinas off Lawis Ledge in August 2013.
The spill affected 13 barangays in Cordova, three of these, which are Day-as, Buagsong, Bangbang, were highly affected.

Sadaba said that 0.43 hectares of mangroves died within three months following the incident.

But, he said, this was only 0.29 percent of the total mangrove land area in Cordova which is 145 hectares.