Sujoy Biswas, Sufia Zaman and Abhijit Mitra*

Soil profile in the mangrove dominated lower Gangetic delta plays a crucial role in regulating floral and faunal distribution. Soil organic carbon, pH and salinity were monitored in mangrove ecosystem ' years (2011 - 2015). Samplings were carried out at 14 stations at four different depths (0.01-0.10 m, 0.10-0.20 m, 0.20-0.30 m and 0.30-0.40 m) through three seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon). High organic Carbon load was observed at the stations in Western Indian Sundarbans (mean = 1.04%) which is near to the highly urbanized city of Kolkata. The Central and Eastern sectors under the protected forest area showed comparatively less soil organic Carbon (mean = 0.61%). Soil pH exhibited a lower value in the reserve forest zones (Central and Eastern sectors) compared to the Western sector. The soil salinity increased with depth, while organic carbon and pH decreased with depth in all the stations. A complete mapping of spatio-temporal variations of soil parameters is needed to sustain healthy mangrove vegetation in the lower Gangetic delta.

Cite this Article: Biswas S, Zaman S, Mitra A. Soil Characteristics of Indian Sundarbans: The Designated World Heritage site. Sci J Biomed Eng Biomed Sci. 2017;1(2): 053-059.

Published: 18 November 2017