Carbon storage potential of tropical wetland forests of South Asia: a case study from Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, India

Mangroves are halophytic vegetation comprising the tropics. Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, being a local hotspot of mangrove, acts as carbon sink for mitigating increased CO₂ level in the atmosphere. The study estimated total biomass and total carbon in five selected stations of this Wildlife Sanctuary in reference to relevant ambient parameters of water (temperature, pH, and salinity) and soil (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density, organic carbon, organic matter, and texture) seasonally. The average values for total biomass and total carbon measured in this study are 866.67 ± 166.10 t ha^-1 and 444.68 ± 83.70 t ha^-1, respectively. The average soil organic carbon recorded was 3.73 ± 2.10 t ha^-1 and average litter carbon was 0.59 ± 0.20 t ha^-1, respectively. Among the components, above-ground biomass constitutes 55-70% of total biomass and total carbon. Significant positive relationship between biomass (above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, litter biomass, total biomass) and carbon (above-ground carbon, below-ground carbon, litter carbon, soil organic carbon, and total carbon) was obtained with respect to selected physico-chemical variables which proved the significant effect of change in biomass and carbon to changing parameters of the ambient media in the study area. The analysis of variance computed between season and station has also proved the above phenomenon. The study revealed the mangrove carbon storage potential of 21 mangrove species, which is at par with the biomass of South-east Asia and South west Pacific countries. Hence, mangrove conservation programs like REDD+ can be adopted in this wildlife sanctuary being the 2nd largest mangrove patch of India after Sundarbans.