Karnataka has mangrove patches, a study finds

Scientists analysed a set of satellite imagery to discover mangrove, an unlikely ecological wealth on Karnataka’s coast that successive forest surveys of India have completely missed out. In a paper published recently in the journal Geophysics & Remote Sensing, researchers identify 300 hectares of mangrove forest in Karnataka, spread over three coastal districts. At the confluence of four rivers — Aghanashini, Gangavali, Sharavati and Venkatapura — and the Arabian Sea “is a long stretch of dense and tall mangrove vegetation… with a high number of mangrove plant species” locally known as Kandla or Sundari, says the paper. “FSI also only recently began using remote sensing and relied largely on ground-reporting.” A devastating super cyclone of 1999, followed by the 2004 tsunami raised awareness about the irreplaceability of mangroves, he added. And in terms of ecological services, they stabilise shorelines, are nurseries for fish breeding and filter heavy metals.” According to the paper, the value of an estuary is calculated as $19120 per hectare per year if all “goods and services” are taken into account: shrimps, fish and crabs; mangrove shrubs; nutrient cycling, hydrology, soil protection and a sink for carbon.