CLI Mangrove Project

Despite increasing awareness regarding value and importance, the destruction of mangrove forest continues to take place in many parts of the world. At the same time, many countries have recognized the value and importance of mangrove forests and launched restoration projects, which mainly implies replanting of propagules. However, this strategy is only partially successful and many plants do not survive. Among other factors, a key factor is the lack of knowledge on the physical and chemical and biological structure of the respective soils. To counter this deficiency, we therefore propose a soil-tailored engineering approach that is based on the unique availability of a microbial mangrove biobank with the functional analysis of the soil microbiome. In this project, we will assess the feasibility of developing a functional engineering rehabilitation method that replants mangrove propagules with the important microbial partners that are missing in degraded coastal soils.

To succeed in establishing sustainable ecosystems in any soil, requires the consideration of site-specific soil characteristics and microbiomes. Current replanting initiatives will require a knowledge of soil and microbiome status of locations in the coasts. The current project will improve on previous projects by providing synthetic microbial communities that have been tailored to local needs to rehabilitate soils. In short, the AI-based functional analysis of soil sites will determine which microbial pathways and functions are lacking to provide a fertile soil. The lacking pathways will be identified in microbial biobank strains. The advantage of the proposed approach is that the use of synthetic communities based on natural mangrove ecosystems will enhance the success rate in mangrove