Mangrove forest

• Mangrove  trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.

• Mangrove forests only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

• Many mangrove forests can be recognized by their dense tangle of prop roots that make the trees appear to be standing on stilts above the water.

• This tangle of roots allows the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides.  Most mangroves get flooded at least twice per day.

• The roots also slow the movement of tidal waters, causing sediments to settle out of the water and build up the muddy bottom.

• Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.

• The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fishes and other organisms seeking food and shelter from predators.

Evaluating the services of Sundarbans

Value of Forest

• Forest is a bounteous gift of nature that provides the basis of life and livelihood for humans.

• According to human history, hunting and gathering, the first and foremost livelihood of human was forest based.

• Interestingly, mangrove is the most diverse forest and is maximum service provider of all the forest types.

•Today, it is man whose relentless activities are, however, at the root of eroding this invaluable biological capital of nature.

• Forest management has also seen a long chronological development even in Bangladesh.

• Unfortunately forest has always been valued by its wood, food, fuel-wood and the like contribution to human well-being.

• Having no monetary value in the commercial markets, forest's                                                                 services that help keep the environment supportive of life and living have hardly received attention of all concerned and particularly the policy makers.

• UN had rightly put the theme of one year's World Environment Day

'Forests: Nature at Your Services' to highlight the importance of different services of forests, including the ecological ones, to mankind.

• Sundarbans  is the world's largest single tract mangroves, on an area of 10,029 sq km between India and Bangladesh.

• The forest covers 10,029 square kilometers (3,900 sq mi) of which about 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 sq mi) are in Bangladesh.

•It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997.

•The Indian part of Sundarbans is estimated to be about 4,110 square kilometers (1,590 sq mi).

• The Indian part of the forest is estimated to be about 19 percent, while the Bangladeshi part is 81 percent.

• The Sundarbans was originally measured (about 200 years ago) to be of about 16,700 square kilometers (6,400 sq mi). Now it has dwindled into about 1/3 of the original size.

• The remaining water area of 1,874 square kilometres (724 sq mi) encompasses rivers, small streams and canals.

Aquatic and terrestrial species:

•  The Sundarbans, a forest ecosystem full of life, energy and enthusiasm, provides habitats for about 6540 species, both aquatic and terrestrial.

• About 5,700 species are of vascular plants and 840 species belong to the forest wildlife (Akhond, 1999).

• The mangrove wildlife habitats provide both food and shelter to organisms.

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• Many aquatic animals such as fish and prawn depend on mangrove areas for reproducing and juvenile development.

• Many species of migratory birds depend on mangroves for part of their life cycle like resting or feeding while on migration.

• The microorganisms eat the mangrove's leaf litter, and in turn are eaten by juvenile fish and shrimp (The Shedd, 2011).

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