Research Gaps in the Conservation and Management of Mangrove Wetlands Dr V Selvam M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Chennai, India Abstract The wealth (species diversity and biomass) and health (community structure, hydrological and soil conditions) of the mangrove wetlands are mainly decided by geographical settings, tidal amplitude and freshwater flow. Freshwater flow plays a critical role in creating suitable environmental conditions for true mangrove species to flourish in the mangrove wetlands. However, the quantity and periodicity of freshwater flow into many mangrove ecosystems is getting reduced and in specific cases quality of freshwater coming into the mangrove is also of great concern. Data collected from Indian mangroves indicate that local extinction of true mangrove species coincides with a reduction in freshwater inflow and mangroves with less freshwater flow also show less biomass. This implies that each mangrove ecosystem should receive certain amount of freshwater to sustain its diversity and biomass (environmental flow) but how much quantity of freshwater is required and how long it should flow to sustain a mangrove wetland is not known. This is one of the important research gaps in the conservation of mangrove wetlands, which should be addressed immediately. The second major gap is natural hybridization in mangrove species. Natural hybridization has been reported in six out of 30 genera of mangroves, namely, Rhizophora, Ceriops, Bruguiera, Sonneratia, Lumnitzera and Avicennia. The factors deriving hybridization and its biological evolutionary significance are still not clearly understood. The third area of research gap is related to the role that is expected that mangrove would play in enhancing adaptive capacity of coastal communities to sea level rise. Mangrove wetland has been considered as first line defence to sea level rise and also considered as soft solution to protect the coasts from rising sea. However, more research studies are needed to prove this hypothesis.
Programme & Abstract for the Presentation : International Mangrove Forum Mangrove Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 23 August 2018 @ 13.00-17.00 hrs. FORTROP Room, 3rd Floor, 60th Year Building Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok
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