CARBON STOCKS IN THE MANGROVE VEGETATION OF LOTHIAN WILD LIFE SANCTUARY OF INDIAN SUNDARBANS: IMPLICATION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

A study was undertaken during August 2017 at Lothian Wild Life Sanctuary of Indian Sundarbans to estimate the stored carbon in the mangrove vegetation of the island. 34 true mangrove species were documented from the island, but on the basis of criterion DBH ≥ 5 cm, only 26 species were selected for the estimation. We focused on the stem biomass and the carbon locked in this compartment as the other above ground structures (like leaves, twigs and branches) are converted into litter and act as relatively temporary sink of carbon. Stem carbon exhibited direct proportionality with stem biomass in all the species. The total biomass of the documented species (except those whose DBH values are less than 5 cm) was 164.24 t ha-1. The stored carbon in the stem region of these species was 74.18 t ha-1, which is equivalent to 272.25 tonnes of carbon dioxid