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Analysis of Indirect Human Influences and its Bad Impacts on Ecosystems of Natural Forest Resources (Sundarbans) in Bangladesh

Received: 6 August 2014     Accepted: 18 August 2014     Published: 30 August 2014
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Abstract

Sundarbans plays a vital role for human survivability from cradle to grave including tangible and intangible benefits. The total forest area of Bangladesh is about 2.47 million ha, which accounts for about 18% of the total land area of the country, and which constitutes 0.15% of the world’s total tropical forests (Haque, 2000), although an estimate from 1993 only put the tree cover at 5-7% of the country’s area (FAO,1993). Sundarbans comprises 45% of the total productive forests in Bangladesh, and contributes about 50% of forest related revenue (Awal, 2007). The Sundarbans is the largest single mangrove forest in the world, occupying about 6,029 km2 in Bangladesh and the rest in India (Iftekhar & Islam, 2004). At the advent of British rule in 1765, the Sundarbans forests were double their present size (Seidensticker, and Hai, 1983; Khan, 1997). But it is facing tremendous problems (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). However, a serious killer disease (top dying) of H. fomes in Sundarbans is affecting millions of the trees (Awal, 2007). The loss of H. fomes will have a major impact on the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, as well as lead to economic losses (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). But, it is now under serious threatened through human direct and indirect destruction (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014), and by ecological pollution (Awal, 2007). The cause of this dieback is still unknown (Awal, 2007). The present work has investigated one of the possible factors that might be causing this top-dying namely the concentrations of various chemical elements present in the soil or sediments, particularly, Exchangeable K, heavy metals, though other chemical parameters such as the pH, moisture content of the soil or sediment and nutrient status were also assessed due to indirect human destruction of Sundarbans natural resources (Awal, 2007). A questionnaire survey was conducted among different groups of people inside and outside of Sundarbans to explore local perceptions as to the possible causes of top dying (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). This confirmed the increase in top-dying prevalence (Awal, 2007).

Published in American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13
Page(s) 130-140
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Human Destruction, Indirect Extractions, Activities, Chemical Contamination, Causal Factors, Pollution, Heavy Metal Concentrations, Chemical Contamination, Sundarbans, Top-Dying

References
[1] Awal, M.A. (2007). Analysis of possible environmental factors causing top-dying in mangrove forest trees in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. PhD thesis, University of Bradford.
[2] Awal, M.A., Hale, W.H.G. & Stern, B. (2009). Trace element concentrations in mangrove sediments in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 58(12), 1944-1948.
[3] Awal, M.A. (2014). “Correlation between the chemical composition of the surface sediment and water in the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, and the regeneration, growth and dieback of the forest trees and people health”. Journal of Science Innovation; 2014. 2(2): pp.11-21.Science Publishing Group, USA; May 20th, 2014(2):11-21;doi: 10.11648/j/si.20140202.11.
[4] Anonymous, 1975. Under-exploited tropical plants with promising economic value. National Academy of Sciences, Washington.
[5] Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2006. Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh, Statistics Division. Ministry of Planning. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[6] Bari, A. 1993. Afforestation and the nutrient sink. Assistance to Fisheries Research Institute. Mymensingh. BGD / 89 / 012, Field Document-3.
[7] BFRI, 1990-95. Annual Research Report. Silviculture Genetics Division. Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI), Chittagong, Bangladesh.
[8] Briggs, J.C. (1991). Global species diversity. Journal of Natural History, 25:1403-1406.
[9] Burns, K.A; S. D. Garrity, and S.C. Levings. 1993. How many years until mangrove ecosystems recover from catastrophic spills? Marine Pollution Bulletin 26 (5): 239-248.
[10] Chaffey, D. R; Miller, F.R; Sandom, J. H. 1985. A forest inventory of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh, Main report, Project Report No.140, 196 pp; Overseas Development Administration, London, U.K:195-196.
[11] Chantarasri, S. 1994. Integrated Resource Development of the Sundarban, Fisheries Resources Mangagement for the Sundarban, UNDP / FAO, BGD / 84 / 056, Khulna, Bangladeshp: 170-172.
[12] Currie, J. A. 1984. Gas diffusion through soil crumbs: the effects of compaction and wetting. Journal of Soil Science. 35: 1-10.
[13] FAO / UNEP, 1981. Food loss Prevention in Perishable Crops. FAO Agricultural Services Bull, 43, Italy, Rome.
[14] FAO, 1982. Management and utilization of mangroves in Asia and the Pacific.1982. FAO Environment Paper, 3.Rome:160-168.
[15] FAO, 1994. Review of the state of world marine fisheries resources. FAO Fisheries resources. FAO Fisheries Technical Approach Paper 335:143.
[16] FAO, 1997. State of the World’s Forests. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy.
[17] Government of Republic of Bangladesh, 1985. The draft of (1985-90) 5th five year plan, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[18] Government of Bangladesh, (1993). Forestry Master Plan: Executive Summary. Asian Development Bank, UNDP/FAOBGD/88/025, Forest Department, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka.31p.
[19] Guha, R. (1989). Radical American Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique. Environmental Ethics, 11, pp.71-83.
[20] Hambrey, J. 1999. Mangrove, Fisheries and Economic. Aquaculture and Aquatic Resource Management Program. Asian Institute of Technology. Thailand: 1-4.
[21] Hussain, Z. and Karim, A. (1994). Introduction. In: Mangroves of the Sundarbans. Volume 2: Bangladesh, Z. Hussain and G. Acharya (Eds.) IUCN. Bankok, Thailand. !-18 pp.
[22] Islam, A. K. M. N. 1973. The algal flora of the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Botany. 2 (2): 11-36.
[23] Khan, J. A. 1997. Estimation of unregulated densities by line transects method in Gir forest, India. Tropical Ecology. 38(1): 65-72.
[24] Mukharjee, A. K. 1975. The Sundarbans of India and its biota. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 72 (1):1-20.
[25] Phillips, O. L; Hall, P; Gentry, A.H.; Sawyer, S. A; and Vasques, R. 1994. Dynamics and species richness of tropical forests. Proc. Natural Acad. Society. U.S.A.91: 2805-2809.
[26] Seidensticker, J. Hai; A. 1983. The Sundarbans wildlife management plan: conservation in the Bangladesh (cited in Chaffey et al., 1985), Bangladesh.
[27] Seidensticker, J. & Hai, M.A. 1983. The Sundarbans Wildlife Management. Bangladesh coastal zone. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Gland, Switzerland.
[28] Singh, K.P & Singh, J.S. 1988. Certain structural functional aspects of dry tropical forest and savanna. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 14:31-45.
[29] Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981). Biometry. San Francisco, w.H. Freeman.
[30] Status Report, Government of India, 1987; and India Remote Sensing Data (Nayak, 1993). Mangroves in India. India.
[31] UNESCO, 1997. Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, France, Paris.
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    Awal, Mohd Abdul. (2014). Analysis of Indirect Human Influences and its Bad Impacts on Ecosystems of Natural Forest Resources (Sundarbans) in Bangladesh. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 3(5), 130-140. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13

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    Awal; Mohd Abdul. Analysis of Indirect Human Influences and its Bad Impacts on Ecosystems of Natural Forest Resources (Sundarbans) in Bangladesh. Am. J. Theor. Appl. Stat. 2014, 3(5), 130-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13

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    Awal, Mohd Abdul. Analysis of Indirect Human Influences and its Bad Impacts on Ecosystems of Natural Forest Resources (Sundarbans) in Bangladesh. Am J Theor Appl Stat. 2014;3(5):130-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13,
      author = {Awal and Mohd Abdul},
      title = {Analysis of Indirect Human Influences and its Bad Impacts on Ecosystems of Natural Forest Resources (Sundarbans) in Bangladesh},
      journal = {American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5},
      pages = {130-140},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20140305.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajtas.20140305.13},
      abstract = {Sundarbans plays a vital role for human survivability from cradle to grave including tangible and intangible benefits. The total forest area of Bangladesh is about 2.47 million ha, which accounts for about  18% of the  total land area of the country, and which constitutes 0.15% of the world’s total tropical forests (Haque, 2000), although an estimate from 1993 only put the tree cover at 5-7% of the country’s area (FAO,1993). Sundarbans comprises 45% of the total productive forests in Bangladesh, and contributes about 50% of forest related revenue (Awal, 2007). The Sundarbans is the largest single mangrove forest in the world, occupying about 6,029 km2 in Bangladesh and the rest in India (Iftekhar & Islam, 2004). At the advent of British rule in 1765, the Sundarbans forests were double their present size (Seidensticker, and Hai, 1983; Khan, 1997). But it is facing tremendous problems (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). However, a serious killer disease (top dying) of H. fomes in Sundarbans is affecting millions of the trees (Awal, 2007). The loss of H. fomes will have a major impact on the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, as well as lead to economic losses (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). But, it is now under serious threatened through human direct and indirect destruction (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014), and by ecological pollution (Awal, 2007). The cause of this dieback is still unknown (Awal, 2007). The present work has investigated one of the possible factors that might be causing this top-dying namely the concentrations of various chemical elements present in the soil or sediments, particularly, Exchangeable K, heavy metals, though other chemical parameters such as the pH, moisture content of the soil or sediment and nutrient status were also assessed due to indirect human destruction of Sundarbans natural resources (Awal, 2007). A questionnaire survey was conducted among different groups of people inside and outside of Sundarbans to explore local perceptions as to the possible causes of top dying (Awal, 207, 2009, 2014). This confirmed the increase in top-dying prevalence (Awal, 2007).},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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