Skip to main content
Log in

Vegetation dynamics in the Bangladesh Sundarbans mangroves: a review of forest inventories

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Sundarbans, the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world, covers 6,017 km2 of the coastal zone of Bangladesh. Heritiera fomes Buch.-Ham., 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 >2.5 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 short-term 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 micro-scale should be emphasized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adel MH (2002) Man made climate change in the Ganges basin. Int J Climatol 22:993–1016

    Google Scholar 

  • Aksornkoae S (1993) Ecology and management of mangroves. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Anon (2002) Greenhouse gas storage by restoration of mangrove ecosystems. CRIEPI News 361. Source: http://www.criepi.denken.or.jp

  • Blasco F (1977) Outlines of ecology, botany and forestry of the mangals of the Indian subcontinent. In: Chapman VJ (ed) Wet coastal ecosystems, ecosystems of the world, vol 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 241–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Blasco F, Aizpuru M, Gers C (2001) Depletion of the mangroves of Continental Asia. Wetl Ecol Manage 9:245–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canonizado JA, Hossain MA (1998) Integrated forest management plan for the Sundarbans Reserved Forest (Final Draft). Mandala Agricultural Development Corporation and Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Bangladesh

  • Chaffey DR, Miller FR, Sandom JH (1985) A forest inventory of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, Main report. Overseas Development Administration, Land Resources Development Centre, England

  • Chapman VJ (1976) Mangrove vegetation. Cramer Vaduz, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhuri AB, Choudhury AC (1994) Mangroves of the Sundarbans, vol 1: India. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Chowdhury RA, Ahmed I (1994) History of forest management. In: Hussain Z, Acharya G (eds) Mangroves of the Sundarbans, vol 2: Bangladesh. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis SJ (1933) Working plan for the forests of the Sundarbans Division for the period from 1st April 1931 to 31st March 1951, Volume III Part of Appendix III Description of the Compartments and their Histories. Government of Bengal

  • Curtis SJ (1934) Working plan for the forests of the Sundarbans Division for the period from 1st April 1931 to 31st March 1951, Abridged Edition. Government of Bengal

  • Das S, Siddiqi NA (1985) Mangroves and mangrove forests of Bangladesh. Mangrove Silviculture Division Bulletin no 2. Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Chittagong, Bangladesh

  • Ellison AM, Mukherjee BB, Karim A (2000) Testing patterns of zonation in mangroves: scale dependence and environmental correlates in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh. J Ecol 88:813–824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1994) Mangrove forest management guidelines, Forestry paper no 117. FAO, Rome

  • Forestal (1960) Forest Inventory 1958–59, Sundarbans Forest. 2 volumes. Forestal,Oregon, Canada

  • Hussain Z, Karim A (1994) Introduction. In: Hussain Z, Acharya G (eds) Mangrove of the Sundarbans, vol 2: Bangladesh. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Hutchings P, Saenger P (1987) Ecology of mangroves. University of Queensland Press, Australia

  • Iftekhar MS (1999) Vegetation dynamics in the Sundarbans and the contribution of salinity between 1985–1995. BSc Thesis, Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

  • Iftekhar MS, Islam MR (2002) Vegetation dynamics in the Sundarbans and it’s implication on the integrated coastal zone management of Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of the conference on the coastal zone Asia Pacific, held on 11–17 May 2002 at Bangkok, Thailand. Source: http://www.vims.edu/czap

  • Iftekhar MS, Islam MR (2004) Degeneration of Bangladesh Sundarbans mangroves: a management issue. Int Forest Rev 6:123–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam MS, Wahab MA (2005) A review on the present status and management of mangrove wetland habitat resources in Bangladesh with emphasis on mangrove fisheries and aquaculture. Hydrobiologia 542:165–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam MS (2001) Sea-level changes in Bangladesh: the last ten thousand years. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN–Bangladesh (2001) The Bangladesh Sundarbans: a photoreal sojourn. IUCN-The World Conservation Union Bangladesh country office, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • IUCN–Bangladesh (2004) Bengal Tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. IUCN-The World Conservation Union Bangladesh country office, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Karim A (1988) Environmental factors and the distribution of mangroves in the Sundarbans with special reference to Heritiera fomes Buch.-Ham. PhD Thesis, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, India

  • Karim A (1994) Vegetation. In: Hussain Z, Acharya G (eds) Mangroves of the Sundarbans vol 2: Bangladesh. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Karim A (1995) Report on mangrove silviculture, vol 1. Integrated Resource Development of the Sundarbans Reserved Forest, Bangladesh. FAO/UNDP Project BGD/84/056

  • Latif MA, Rahman MF, Das S, Siddiqi NA (1992) Diameter increment for six mangrove tree species in the Sundarbans forest of Bangladesh. Banglad J For Sci 21:7–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Naskar KR (1999) Status of mangroves in Indian Sundarbans—in the perspectives of India and world mangals. In: Bakshi DNG, Sanyal P, Naskar Acharya KR (eds) Sundarbans mangals. Naya Prokash, Calcutta, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Ong JE, Gong WK, Clough BF (1995) Structure and productivity of a 20-year-old stand of Rhizophora apiculata Bl. mangrove forest. J Biogeogr 22:417–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman MA (1990) A comprehensive report on Sundri (Heritiera fomes) trees with particular reference to top dying in the Sundarbans. In: Rahman MA, Khandaker K, Ahmed FU, Ali O (eds) Proceedings of the seminar on top dying of Sundri (Heritiera fomes) trees, held on 11 August, 1988, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Revilla JAV, Ahmad IU, Hossain MA (1998) Final report: forest inventory of the Sundarbans Reserved Forest. 2 volumes. Forest Resources Management Project, Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Shafi M (1982) Adverse effect of Farakka on the forests of south-west region of Bangladesh (Sundarbans). In: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Forestry, held on 21–26 January, 1982, Forest Department, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Siddiqi NA (1994) Natural regeneration. In: Hussain Z, Acharya G (eds) Mangrove of the Sundarbans, vol 2: Bangladesh. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Siddiqi NA (2001) Mangrove forestry in Bangladesh. Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh

  • Snedaker S (1991) Notes on the Sundarbans with emphasis on geology, hydrology and forestry. In: Seidensticker J, Kurin R, Townsend AK (eds) The commons in South Asia: societal pressure and environmental integrity in the Sundarbans. Source: http://www.smartoffice.com/Tiger/Proceedings.html

  • Tomlinson PB (1986) The botany of mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

  • Troup RS (1921) The silviculture of Indian trees. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Associate Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticisms and comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. S. Iftekhar.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Iftekhar, M.S., Saenger, P. Vegetation dynamics in the Bangladesh Sundarbans mangroves: a review of forest inventories. Wetlands Ecol Manage 16, 291–312 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9063-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9063-5

Keywords

Navigation