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Spatial variability of the rate of organic carbon mineralization in a sewage-impacted mangrove forest, Mikindani, Kenya

  • IASWS 2014: The Interactions Between Sediments and Water
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Extensive amounts of untreated sewage are discharged in creeks lined by mangrove forests. This is a common occurrence in peri-urban coastal areas of the developing world. There is much evidence to suggest that mangroves filter discharged wastewater and prevent coastal pollution. The Mikindani mangrove system, Kenya has been exposed to sewage for more than a decade. The study seeks to investigate the ability of the Mikindani mangrove system to deal with the sewage carbon load.

Materials and methods

The ability of the mangrove system to phytoremediate sewage was investigated using anaerobic incubation experiments of sediments collected at several locations along the length of the creek at the study site. Carbon dioxide production was used as a proxy to measure the rate of organic matter degradation.

Results and discussion

The carbon dioxide production for the 0–1-cm sediment segment at site MKR 1 (the sewage input site) increased twofold after 8 days, implying that the natural system does not get enough time to stabilize since it is dosed continuously every tidal cycle. In situ CO2 efflux at site MKR 3 (~6 km from the sewage input site) was about three times the ∑CO2 production obtained after incubation for 8 days (anaerobic), which indicates that the easily degradable sediment organic carbon pool had degraded by about 67 % after 8 days. This suggests that this is sufficient time for the Rhizophora mangrove sediment system under anaerobic natural conditions to naturally degrade the system's sediment organic matter.

Conclusions

The Mikindani mangrove system effectively spreads the discharged sewage over a distance of ~3 km. This effectively spreads the impact allowing the system to phytoremediate the artificially added organic matter.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank PUMPSEA (Peri-urban mangrove forests as filters and potential phytoremediators of domestic sewage in East Africa) for funding the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, P.O. Box 81651-80100, Mombasa, Kenya

    Joseph Nyingi Kamau, Bernard Kirui, Stephen Mwangi, Charles Mitto Kosore, Veronica Wanjeri & Sturcky Okumu

  2. University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Doornfontein, P.O. Box 17011, 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Jane Catherine Ngila

Authors
  1. Joseph Nyingi Kamau
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  2. Jane Catherine Ngila
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  3. Bernard Kirui
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  4. Stephen Mwangi
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  6. Veronica Wanjeri
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  7. Sturcky Okumu
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Correspondence to Joseph Nyingi Kamau.

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Kamau, J.N., Ngila, J.C., Kirui, B. et al. Spatial variability of the rate of organic carbon mineralization in a sewage-impacted mangrove forest, Mikindani, Kenya. J Soils Sediments 15, 2466–2475 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1271-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1271-7

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