S. DAS ET AL. 239
fungi. Other groups of microbes have also shown sig-
nificant population which is a good sign for a mangrove
forest with respect to mineralization of organic debris
and as a result mangrove plants can easily get nutrients in
their simplest forms. From seasonal perspective, the
monsoon period was significantly different (Student’s t
test, P < 0.01) than other periods of the year in terms of
total bacterial abundance and other key parameters. Sea
level rise due to global warming may hamper the stable
ecological zone of Sundarban mangrove forest which
may ultimately reflect to net flux of several biologically
active trace gases between soil and atmosphere. Intro-
duction of huge amount of nutrients during monsoon
have a positive feedback on the bacterial population of
mangrove sediment. Beside the changes in several phys-
icochemical parameters, transport of huge amount of
aquatic microbes could lead to the significant increase in
the microbial population in the soil of this mangrove eco-
system. This may contribute to the aquatic biogeochem-
istry of this tropical wetland.
4. Acknowledgements
The financial assistance from DOEn, Govt. of West
Bengal and U.G.C., New Delhi are gratefully acknowl-
edged. The authors are also grateful to the Forest De-
partment, Govt. of West Bengal for assisting the research
team in collecting data and providing all infrastructural
facilities to reach the remote island.
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