Spatial Variation of Soil Texture in the World Heritage Site of Indian Sundarbans

The mangrove dominated Indian Sundarbans possesses several types of habitats like estuaries, mudflats, swamps, tidal creeks, inlets etc. [1].The temperature is not extreme in summer and winter seasons due to its proximity to the Bay of Bengal in the southern part of the deltaic complex.Average annual maximum temperature is around 27 0 C. The premonsoon season extends from the mid of March to June, and the postmonsoon seasons lasts from November to February.The monsoon usually sets in July and lasts up to the end of October.Rough weather with frequent cyclonic depressions occurs during mid-March to mid-September.Average annual rainfall is 1700 mm.Average relative humidity is about 85% which indicates high moisture load in the air.This unique ecosystem is the resident place of Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris).The deltaic complex sustains more than 100 islands, out of which about 50% are inhabited.The major threats on the ecosystem are high tides and waves due to which erosion occurs.The average tidal amplitude is around 3.0 m.We conducted survey at 24 stations in the Indian Sundarban region in February, 2018.Station selection was primarily based considering the blocks in Indian Sundarban.The present study has great implication as the agricultural productivity, pisciculture and construction of ecotourism units in this deltaic complex stand on the foundation of soil texture.