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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.16, 128-134
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
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nitrogen input in the water include industry,
agriculture (fertilizer) and population (Meybeck
and Helmer, 1989; Benjamin et al., 1991; Xing and
Zhu, 2000; Gregory et al., 2001). The behaviour of
nitrogen in mangrove environment depends on the
ion exchange capacity, redox conditions, organic
matter and clay content of the sediment. Marine
coastal waters often receive high loads of nutrients
(namely nitrogen and phosphorus due to human
activities that may lead to serious eutrophication
problems and deteriorating the coastal environment
(Ranjan et al., 2008). Various studies have shown
that over past few decades more than 55% of the
mangrove land in Sundarban has been acquired
for residential agricultural or industrial purposes,
resulting in increased anthropogenic discharge in
the Riverine system.
The greatest volume of wastes discharged to coastal
waters is sewage, which is primarily organic in nature
and subject to bacterial decay. Sewage pollution is
manifested in the low dissolved oxygen levels and in
high nutrient levels in these waters, which can lead to
an imbalance of plant and animal communities
through the food web (Johnston, 1976). Research on
coastal water circulation and nutrient dynamics in
tropical and subtropical regions has received
considerable attention in the recent past because of the
importance of hydro- and nutrient dynamic processes
in determining the short and long-term sustainability of
coastal ecological systems. Though its huge
importance as a forest for its plants, animals and
mangrove fishery but there is very limited
information regarding the major nutrient dynamics
specially nitrogen and phosphorus in this vital water
body. So, the present study has been undertaken to
know the variation of total nitrogen and total
phosphorus in some selected major River systems.
The data generated from this study will guide the
scenario of major nutrients and will serve as baseline
for further research.
1 Materials and Methods
1.1 Study area and time
The study was conducted in three major River systems
Rupsha-Passur (R-P), Arpangashia- Malancha (A-M) and
Baleswar-Bhola (B-B) of the Sundarbans Mangrove
Forests, Bangladesh (Figure 1). The Sundarbans
is the largest single block of tidal halophytic
mangrove forest in the world, lies at the mouth of the
Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and
West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of
Figure 1 Map of study area with the location of sampling points