Published Paper Details:

Mangrove water and soil properties are crucial parameters in understanding the importance and role of mangrove forests and their impact on the adjacent aquatic systems. The actual study was conducted within the period of two years for both countries (One year in each country), two major sites were chosen in Ghana (Songor Ramsar site) and Cameroon (Douala Edea Reserve). In each site, three mangrove stands: 1) Avicennia, 2) Rhizophora and mixed (Rhizophora and Avicennia) were selected and marked out, and water and soil properties were assessed. The objective of this study was to compare and characterize selected water and soil properties of the two countries. This research on mangrove ecosystem addressed three specific objectives: 1) Determine physicochemical and climatic factors affecting mangrove environment; 2) Assess the spatio- temporal variations in water and soil quality parameters of the mangrove of Cameroon and Ghana; 3) Show the interrelationships between mangrove water and soil properties in both countries within the West -Central African Ecoregion. It was appeared that as the season changes there was a fluctuation in the physicochemical characters of the water, this will be due to ebb and flow, flushing of rain water, change in the temperature and salinity as season changes. All physicochemical parameters, except for DO, meet the requirements for marine protected waters' standard water quality as specified by DAO 2016- 08. The Effective Cation Exchange capacity (ECEC) values ranged from 4.57 to 6.62 cmolkg-1 in Ghana and 6.88 to 25.53 cmolkg-1 in Cameroon. The mangrove soils of Cameroon were more fertile compared to those of Ghana. The present information of the physico-chemical characteristics of water would form a useful tool for further ecological assessment and monitoring of these coastal ecosystems in both countries.