This is what I think,
To fixate the sand of the island, pioneer vegetation is needed (Vibrio porteresiae sp. is associated wild rice, a typical pioneer plant). Vegetation requires nutrients to grow. C.H.N.O.P.S. stands for the six most abundant elements of living organisms. Of course there are many more trace elements needed for life. To give an idea of the needed nutrient ratio's I recall the Redfield ratio, this ratio is found to be C:N:P = 106:16:1 (in phytoplankton) . Carbon is easily available for most vegetation. So the next limiting factor for growth is Nitrogen. However, atmospheric nitrogen has limited availability for biological use, leading to a scarcity of usable nitrogen in many types of ecosystems. And that is maybe why the Vibrio porteresiae sp. nov. is recalled as a pioneer, because it’s a nitrogen-fixing bacteria. So it will increase the availability of nitrogen for vegetation.
I’m not totally sure about all of this, it’s just an idea.
Porteresia sp is called a pioneer species because it often acts as the first species to establish on a deltaic plain. As a consequence, it stabilizes and further enhances the process of sedimentation, thereby raising the deltaic plains.
In mangrove-dominated ecosystem, Porteresia coarctata is the neighbour of mangroves and plays an important role to maintain stability of the islands. It is the pioneer species in the process of ecological succession. Studies have shown that salinity has a regulatory influence on the biomass and carbon content of P. coarctata. The plant contains useful traits including salt and submergence tolerance, perenniality, short internodal length conferring mechanical strength. The major ecological role of mangroves is the stabilization of the shoreline and prevention of shore erosion. The dense network of prop roots, pneumatophores and stilt roots not only give mechanical support to the plant, but also trap the sediments. The rate of sedimentation or accretion is generally much higher in these estuaries lined with mangroves.
- Badges
- Science topic