M. V. Dural , A. Senthil Murugan , Smitha G. Nair , Rameshwar Das

Abstract

The present study was carried out to highlight physio-chemical properties of soils of mangrove forests viz., mangrove scrub, mangrove forest, salt water mixed forest and palm swamp in Sundarbans, West Bengal, India. The altitude of sampling sites was 6m to 7m above msl. The physio-chemical properties of the soils varied with species composition and altitude. Most of the samples were silt-loam in texture. The highest particle density and bulk density was observed in salt-water-mixed forest where as the maximum water holding capacity and high volume expansion were observed in mangrove forest. The highest porosity was recorded in palm swamp forest. The pH values of the mangroves varied from 7.8 to 8.3 and EC ranged from 1.26 to 2.84 mS/cm². The high per cent of organic carbon was found in palm swamp forest. The maximum amount of available P and K was in salt water- mixed forest where as that of available N was in mangrove forest.

Keywords

Physical Chemical Properties, Mangrove Forest, Sunderban Tiger Reserve, Soils Texture, Nutrient, Organic Carbon, Particle Density

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Smitha G. Nair , G. Rajesh

Abstract

Gregarious flowering in bamboo is a very rare natural phenomenon. The average time span between two such flowerings in Bambusa arundinacea is 50 years. But the data on this account is very staggered and insufficient. Observations on the gregarious flowering was taken for each forest block for a period of three years from 2006-2009. Based on the field observations, an effort has been made to document and map the gregarious flowering of this species in Khurda Forest Division, Orissa. The bamboo forests of Nayagarh district flowered gregariously, while the bamboo clumps in Berberra forests of Khurda district, did not flower during the period. This variation is in conformity with the earlier gregarious flowering reported in this division.

Keywords

Gregarious flowering, Bambusa arundinacea, Orissa

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