Hydraulic architecture of mangroves

 
   
Student info
 

People
 
  • Dennis De Ryck (assistant-Ph D student)
  • Judith Okello (Ph D student)
  • Nadia Santini Gonzalez (Ph D student)
  • Jorien Oste (MSc student)
  • Sunanda Kodikara Arachchi (MSc student)
  • Hannes Dedeurwaerder (MSc student)
  • Joelle De Weerdt (free researcher)

 
 
 
Research
 

Next to studying the mangrove vegetation as a whole the functioning of the mangrove trees themselves is part of APNA’s research field. The mangrove wood studies are carried out in close collaboration with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI, Mombasa) and the wood laboratory of the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA Tervuren), managed by Dr. Ir. H. Beeckman. The laboratory provides the required facilities for this research such as microscopes, microtomes, image analysis software, wood library and… the world second largest wood collection!

Mangrove wood is investigated to gain insight in wood formation and tree hydraulics and in how they are influenced by the stressful environmental conditions of the mangrove habitat. In the end these investigations will give us an overview of the ecological plasticity and functional significance of the water conducting tissue of the different mangrove species. We will know the strategies of the different species to survive in the peculiar mangrove environment and how they are related to the species' stress resistance and distribution. Growth ring analyses will aid in the development of management plans directed to sustainable wood production, which is a requirement when one wishes to preserve (the quality of) the mangrove forests.
 
 
Some of our research topics
 
Wood anatomy & formation

  • Dendrochronological potential of Kenyan mangrove species

  • 3D structure and development via successive cambia of Avicennia marina's wood

  • Xylem vessel (vessel diameter, density, grouping, element length,…) and intervessel pit anatomy along the longitudinal and radial tree axis

  • Anatomy of propagules and their development to trees

 
 
Wood anatomy & hydraulics

  • Vessel and intervessel pit anatomy in relation to local site conditons (salinity and flooding frequency) and tree physiological parameters

  • Trees' conductive area and its variation in space and time

  • The influence of soil water salinity on wood anatomy and hydraulic conductivity
 
 
Collaborators
 
 
 
 
KMFRI
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sponsors
 

For this research regular field work missions are performed at different places around the world. The expeditions are financially supported by:

  
   
The Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
   
The Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT)
   
The Schure-Beijerinck-Popping Fund of the Royal Netherlands Society of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
   
The University Development Cooporation (VLIR)
   
European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
   
Society for Experimental Biology
Leopold III-Fonds voor natuuronderzoek en natuurbehoud vzw  
Stichting tot Bevordering van het Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in Afrika
 
Publications
 
2011

Robert EMR, Schmitz N, Boeren I, Driessens T, Herremans K, De Mey J, Van de Casteele E, Beeckman H, Koedam N. Successive Cambia: a Developmental Oddity or an Adaptive Structure? PLoS ONE 6(1): e16558. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016558.
 
 
2010

Schmitz N, Robert EMR, Okello JA, Boeren I, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2010. Mangrove growth rings: fact or fiction? Trees Structure and Function 25(1): 49-58.
 
 

Beelaerts V, De Ridder F, Schmitz N, Bauwens M, Pintelon R, 2010. Time series reconstruction from natural archive data taking into account the averaging effect. Mathematical Geosciences 42: 705-722.
 
2009
 

Schmitz N, Robert EMR, Kirauni H A, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2009. Salinity fluctuations in the mangrove forest of Gazi Bay, Kenya: lessons to take for future research. Nature & Faune 24(1): 89-95.
 
     
Beelaerts V, De Ridder F, Schmitz N, Bauwens M, Dehairs F, Schoukens J, Pintelon R, 2009. On the elimination of bias averaging-errors in proxy records. Mathematical Geosciences 41: 129-144.
 
   
Robert EMR, Koedam N, Beeckman H, Schmitz N, 2009. A safe hydraulic architecture as wood anatomical explanation for the difference in distribution of the mangroves Avicennia and Rhizophora. Functional Ecology 23: 649-657.
 
   

2008

  
 
Chowdhury MQ, Schmitz N, Verheyden A, Sass-Klaassen U, Koedam N, Beeckman H, 2008. Nature and periodicity of growth rings in two Bangladeshi mangrove species. IAWA Journal 29(3), 265-276.
 
 
Schmitz N, Koch G, Schmitt U, Koedam N, Beeckman H, 2008. Intervessel pit structure and histochemistry of two mangrove species as revealed by cellular UV microspectrophotometry and electron microscopy: intraspecific variation and functional significance. Microscopy and Microanalysis 14(5), 387-397.
 
   

Schmitz N, Robert EMR, Verheyden A, Kairo JG, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2008. A patchy growth via successive and simultaneous cambia: key to success of the most widespread mangrove species Avicennia marina? Annals of Botany 101, 49-58.
 
 
2007
 

Schmitz N, Verheyden A, Kairo JG, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2007. Successive cambia development in Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. is not climatically driven in the seasonal climate at Gazi Bay, Kenya. Dendrochronologia 25(2), 87-96.
 
 

Schmitz N, Jansen S, Verheyden A, Kairo JG, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2007. Comparative anatomy of intervessel pits in two mangrove species growing along a natural salinity gradient in Gazi Bay, Kenya. Annals of Botany 100, 271-281.
 
 
2006
 

Schmitz N, Verheyden A, Beeckman H, Kairo JG, Koedam N, 2006. Influence of a salinity gradient on the vessel characters of the mangrove species Rhizophora mucronata Lam. Annals of Botany 98, 1321-1330.
 
 
2005
 

Verheyden A, De Ridder F, Schmitz N, Beeckman H, Koedam N, 2005. High-resolution time series of vessel density in Kenyan mangrove trees reveal a link with climate. New Phytologist 167, 425-435.
 
 
 
Student info
Thesis topics
We are welcoming motivated students to join our team to fulfil a Bachelor assignment or Master thesis. Topics are available by sending a mail to nschmitz@vub.ac.be although own initiatives can be discussed too.
Previous thesis topics
  • Huyghe F, 2010. Convergent evolution in mangroves: comparing mangroves and their nearest non-mangrove relatives. Biology Bach thesis, VUB.
  • De Weerdt J, 2010. Is the wood hydraulic structure contributing to mangrove survival? A wood anatomical comparison with upland relatives. Biology MSc thesis, VUB.
  • Cotillas C, 2010. What halts mangroves growing beyond the subtropics? A wood anatomical survey at the borders in Mauritania. ECOMAMA MSc thesis, VUB.
  • Driessens T, 2009. Successive cambia in woody plants: an indicator of water stress? Guided Self-Study, 1st Master Biology, VUB.
  • De Ryck D, 2009. Moving and settling: experiments on the dispersal and establishment of hydrochorous propagules. Biology MSc thesis, VUB.
  • Ochieng J, 2008. Wood formation in six Kenyan mangrove tree species: relationship with the environment and dendrochronological potential. ECOMAMA MSc thesis, VUB.
  • Robert E, 2007. Hydraulische architectuur van Avicennia marina langsheen een ecologische gradiënt
    in Gazi Bay (Kenia). Biology MSc thesis, VUB.
  • Schmitz N, 2004. Houtanatomie van de mangrove Rhizophora mucronata en de relatie met de omgeving. De betekenis van de vatendichtheid voor de veiligheid van het watertransportsysteem. Biology MSc thesis, VUB.
 

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Photos: Nele Schmitz & Elisabeth Robert

Last updated by Nele Schmitz 1 May 2011