Impact of Inorganic Pollution on the Wood Structure and Infradensity of Avicennia germinans Wood from the Gabon Estuary

Mabicka Iwangou Saint Bickolard*, Christ Stone Arnaud Bopenga Bopenga, Arnaud Besserer, Rodrigue Safou Tchiama, Timoléon Andzi Barhe and Philippe Gerardin

Mangroves grow in saline environments and tropical climates, both along coastlines and inland. However, inland mangroves, or urban mangroves, are exposed to pollution from various sources, as is the case with the Alénakiri mangroves, which are exposed to an open-air landfill. Thus, the impact of heavy metal pollution on the wood structure and specific gravity of A. germinans wood in Gabon’s Estuaire Province was studied. The data were compared with those from samples collected at the unpolluted site in Ayémé maritime. The results show that the sapwood and heartwood of the polluted wood from Alénakiri have a higher ash content than those from the unpolluted site at Ayémé maritime. Despite the high salinity of the sediments, pollution has altered the internal structure of the wood, notably resulting in unadjoined vessels and wide growth rings. Furthermore, the specific gravity of the sapwood (0.7 ± 0.02 g/cm³) from the unpolluted wood at Ayémé maritime was significantly higher (p ˂0.05) than that of the polluted wood from Alénakiri (0.66 ± 0.01 g/cm³). This indicates that heavy metal pollution has a greater impact than salinity, as it alters the internal structure of A. germinans wood and reduces its infradensity.

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Published on: Jul 24, 2026 Pages: 15-21

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojeb.000054
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