The effect of substrate media on the survival and growth of the eelgrass Zostera marina

We subjected transplants of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to different substrate media (high-silted soil, akadama soil, peat soil, humus soil, pond soil and natural sediment) for over 25 days under controlled laboratory conditions. Subsequently, an 80-day field transplantation experiment was conducted to assess the establishment success of transplants planted in high-silted soil, akadama soil and natural sediment. We measured plant response in terms of survivorship, morphology and productivity. Survival analysis combined with morphological and productivity assessment suggested that the optimum growing medium for the establishment of Z. marina transplants is high-silted soil. A redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the survival and growth of Z. marina transplants were positively related to the air-filled porosity of the substrate media and were negatively related to the organic matter content. This study will provide data that could prove helpful in successful eelgrass restoration and conservation.