Structural changes in Mangroves of Sundarban in Bangladesh: effects of climate change and human disturbances

Mangroves refer to the plantation, halophytes growing in the harsh brackish coastal habitats and on riverbanks. These shrubland habitats have adapted to the salinity, low oxygen and wave action with their complex roots and filtration system, despite providing the most coastal protection from natural disasters. This paper explores the response of mangroves of different regions to natural calamities and man-made disasters. A simple Lotka–Volterra model has been developed to see the dynamics of the tidal woods and wetlands. Sundarbans, the largest mangrove of Bangladesh, is victim to a vast amount of hazardous events. Frequencies of cyclones flood and drive the mangroves woody over-story to the ground leaving shrubs and wetland. Some other significant threats are deforestation leading to human settlements for fuel, agriculture, and over-fishing. Whether mangroves can exhibit alternative steady states, while environmental and human influence is considered. This mathematical study of mangroves is unprecedented in such a manner. The conditions for forestland equilibrium to be stable depending on different factors are explored. Small changes in data can result in a vast number of possible outcomes. Data for mangroves of Zambezi River Delta, Mozambique, and Sundarbans are used to generate results with constant human behavior and disasters like floods, cyclones, and tsunamis.