CONCLUSION
This study shows that the mangrove forest is a recipient of plastic
waste that is brought in by tidal currents. The quantity of each plastic
waste that is brought is determined by their level of floatability in
aquatic medium. The decomposition of the plastic waste by microbes lead
to the increase in the chemical load of the soil which may have negative
effect on the growth of young mangrove seedlings. Our laboratory study
reveal that seedlings in control soil grew taller than their
counterparts in plastc soil. Although the growth difference was not much
probably because of the duration of the experiment, however, the result
has great implication for the natural enviornment where hazardous
plastic components remain in mangrove soils to contaminate organisms
consumed by humans such as crsba, periwinkle and fingerlings of fish
that spawn and breed in the soil and root of mangovr trees. The study
also revealed that R. mangle has greater ability than R.
racemosa to grow in polluted soil, which makes it useful in restoration
ecology.