In general, plants growing in habitats with a deficit of water possess adaptations to store
water. Mangrove plants have to face a physiological drought due to high soil salinity implying
that mangroves growing under higher salinities should have higher water contents. In
contrast, the present study found that the percentage water contents in saplings of species
less tolerant of salinity, i.e., A. officinalis, B. sexangula, R. apiculata, were higher when
they were grown under low saline conditions. In a mangrove habitat, the soil salinity is not
constant but fluctuates depending mainly on the fresh water inflow and, in the case of Sri
Lanka, blocking of lagoonal mouths.