Biogeochemical and biophysical aspects of pichavaram mangrove ecosystem south india

Abstract

Mangroves are the woody halophytes living at the confluence of newlineland and sea and presently occupy about 181000 km2 of tropical and newlinesubtropical coastline Over the past 50 years approximately onethird of the newlineworlds mangroves have been lost due to anthropogenic activities which newlineenhance the rates of trace gas fluxes trace metal accumulation and newlinesedimentation Recent studies in tropical mangrove ecosystems have newlineconfirmed that mangrove ecosystems are significant sources of trace gas newlineemission to the atmosphere Apart from this mangrove habitats have often newlinereceived inputs of sediments may show significant metal contamination and newlinehigh sedimentation rates The overall aim of this research work is to evaluate newlineand understand the dynamic interaction between various biogeochemical newlineprocesses and changes affecting the Pichavaram mangrove ecosystem South newlineeast coast of India