Spatio-Temporal Variation of Stored Carbon in Sonneratia apetala: a Case Study from Indian Sundarbans

Considering 24 stations, distributed in three contrasting salinity regimes in Indian Sundarbans, we carried out a survey on Above Ground Biomass (AGB) and Above Ground Carbon (AGC) of Sonneratia apetala for two decades (1996-2015). We focused on three sectors of Indian Sundarbans namely western, central and eastern sectors that have contrasting salinity profile. In the western sector, the average AGB of the species were 36.85 tonnes ha, 43.17 tonnes ha and 49.04 tons/h during 1996, 2005 and 2015 respectively. In the central sector, the mean AGB of the species were 0.84 tonnes ha, 2.74 tonnes ha and 7.83 tonnes ha in similar years. In the eastern sector, the mean AGB values were 9.16 tonnes ha, 14.76 tonnes ha and 20.21 tonnes ha during the same years. The AGC values synchronized with the AGB values. The present study indicates that the stored carbon in the AGB of the species is significantly more in the hyposaline environment of Indian Sundarbans (western sector) compared to the hypersaline central sector of the deltaic complex (p < 0.05).