Journal Title
Title of Journal: Wetlands Ecol Manage
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Abbravation: Wetlands Ecology and Management
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Publisher
Springer Netherlands
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Authors: M S Iftekhar P Saenger
Publish Date: 2007/11/24
Volume: 16, Issue: 4, Pages: 291-312
Abstract
The Sundarbans the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world covers 6017 km2 of the coastal zone of Bangladesh Heritiera fomes BuchHam Excoecaria agallocha L and Ceriops decandra Griff Ding Hou jointly cover 95 of the forest area In this study the results of four forest inventories have been analyzed to understand observed vegetation dynamics of the Sundarbans from 1926 to 1997 The diversity of forest types has been gradually reduced over time but H fomes and E agallocha have maintained their dominance over large portions of the forest H fomes is spread over 67 of the vegetated area of the forest concentrated mostly in the northeastern area and constitutes 75 of the density of trees with 15 cm dbh The distribution and stem density of H fomes show negative relationships with that of E agallocha and C decandra In terms of coverage E agallocha is the most common species spread over 74 of the vegetated area of the forest and constitutes 39 of the density of trees with 25 cm dbh On a longer timeframe 1926–1997 the dominance coverage and density of larger diameter trees of H fomes as well as that of E agallocha is declining Even on parameters such as density of trees with 15 cm dbh the dominance of E agallocha is declining at a much greater rate than H fomes This observation contradicts the successional schemes proposed by different authors This might indicate that theorizing successional schemes based on shortterm observations on vegetation dynamics is not sufficient The effect of human interference changes in hydroedaphic condition and species interaction should be taken into consideration during explaining observed vegetation dynamics Moreover the need to understand vegetation trajectories at the microscale should be emphasized
Keywords:
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Other Papers In This Journal:
- A three-tiered framework to select, prioritize, and evaluate potential wetland and stream mitigation banking sites
- African wetlands and their seasonal use by wild and domestic herbivores
- Wetland hydrologic class change from prior to European settlement to present on the Des Moines Lobe, Iowa
- Assessing impacts of habitat modification on a subtropical salt marsh: 20 years of monitoring
- The implications of harvesting on the population structure and sediment characteristics of the mangroves at Mngazana Estuary, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Spatial and temporal dynamics of diffusive methane emissions in the Okavango Delta, northern Botswana, Africa
- Occurrence and distribution of plankton-associated and free-living toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in a tropical estuary of a cholera endemic zone
- Tracking marsh restoration using macrobenthic metrics: implementing a functional approach
- Vegetation along hydrologic, edaphic, and geochemical gradients in a high-elevation poor fen in Canaan Valley, West Virginia
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