Investigation on possibility of mangrove regeneration: a case study from Indian Sundarbans.

Abstract

Mangroves serve as biotic fences of estuarine belts consisting of salt-tolerant plants that grow in intertidal zones and can be regenerated naturally as well as artificially. Mangrove regeneration refers to the process of restoring or rebuilding mangrove ecosystems that have been already degraded, damaged, or lost from their native place through the monitoring of geomorphological, taxonomical, pedological, and ecological aspects. The primary objective of this study was based on the remote sensing application through several important health monitoring indices over the minute part of Indian Sundarbans to prove the possibility of mangrove regeneration. Change detection analysis in the indices proves that there was possible growth and development in mangrove colonization over the same. The secondary objective is to comprehend the association of field-related study with the remotely sensed data on species diversity assessment over the same where the native species are Avicennia marina (Peyara Bain), Avicennia officinalis (Jat Bain), Avicennia alba (Kalo Bain), Aegialitis rotundifolia (Tora), Acanthus ilicifolius (Horgoj Kanta), Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Kankra), Ceriops tagal (Goran), and Aegiceras corniculatum (Khalisi). The latter objective is associated with the tertiary one that unveils the correlation between several physico-chemical properties of soil samples taken from the field with the species accommodation. Textural classes are grouped between clay and silty clay that helps to get the foundation of hard wood-based species (Avicennia type) specifically with the salinity ranges between 200 ppt (Site 2) and 633 ppt (Site 1) approximately which presents that the zone is highly saline zone as specifically Avicennia species can sustain high salinity. Importance Value Index (IVI) and species diversity indices have been run to support whether the zone is diversified or not. Equilibrium between deforestation and regeneration through mangrove plantation has to be attained in the near future as deforestation for the livelihood purposes exists, so this newly born island locally named Dorabagda mangrove patch, upper part (Gopalganj) of Kaikhali village, would be the best experimental study site on mangrove regeneration.