Journal of Environment and Sociobiology

Abhijit Mitra ¹, Prosenjit Pramanick ¹, Shankhadeep Chakraborty ¹, Pardis Fazli ², Sufia Zaman ³

Affiliations
1 Dept. of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700091, IN
2 Dept. of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University Putra, Selangor, MY
3 Dept. of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700091, MY

Abstract

Evaluation of ecosystem services of mangroves and their economic evaluation are yet unrevealed, although several literatures are available on the use of mangroves as nursery and breeding ground of fishes, sources of timber, honey, wax, firewood etc. Considering the importance of mangroves as primary service providers to coastal populations and island dwellers, it is extremely important to assess the condition of mangrove forest and relate the same with the anthropogenic and natural threats existing in and around the habitats. Relative abundance and Shannon-Weiner species diversity index of true mangrove species can be used as indicators of mangrove health. The present paper is an approach to evaluate the health of mangrove floral species considering 10 sampling stations in Indian Sundarbans during 2014. The mangrove patches in the selected stations were categorized into a 4-point scale depending on the values of Shannon-Weiner species diversity index. The health of the mangrove forest as per our constructed 4-point scale was found to be regulated primarily by anthropogenic factors, although in station like Sagar South, the natural erosion may be the key player in determining the mangrove floral diversity.

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Shankhadeep Chakraborty ¹, Abhijit Mitra ¹

Affiliations
1 Dept of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata 700 091, IN

Abstract

Pollution by heavy metals in coastal area especially in mangrove ecosystem in Indian Sundarbans, the world heritage site, as a result of industrialization and urbanization is a serious threat for environmental safety. This study was carried out to assess the bioaccumulation pattern of three heavy metals (copper, lead and mercury) in four dominant mangrove species from Indian Sundarbans estuarine system, namely, Avicennia alba, Avicennia marina, Avicennia officinalis and Excoecaria agallocha in the year 2014. For this purpose leaves, ischolar_mains and stem samples were collected from 6 stations (viz., Chemaguri, Jambu island, Gosaba, Bali island, Sajnekhali and Bagmara) located in western, central and eastern estuarine sectors of Indian Sundarbans and analyzed for copper, lead and mercury content. The concentration of heavy metals was found in the order Cu > Pb > Hg in ischolar_main, stem and leaf of the four plant species. Significant variations of heavy metal concentrations were observed between species and between stations (p < 0.01) confirming that different species has different ability of bioremediation. The pattern of bioaccumulation in the four species was seen to follow the order as A. officinalis > A. marina > A. alba > E. agallocha in all the seasons. This result indicates that A. officinalis can be regarded as the most potent bioremediator of ambient water and sediment among the four selected mangrove species.

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