Regeneration Status of Mangrove Species Under Mature Stands in the Polyhaline Zone of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh.

The success rate of regeneration under a mature stand is important to restore the mangrove areas in the polyhaline zone of Bangladesh. To understand the regeneration characteristics of mature stands in the polyhaline zone of Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), Bangladesh, we studied two forest sites in the polyhaline zone: Munshiganj and Burigoalini area. A total of 12 plots with an area of 10m ×10m were selected to determine the tree species structure and composition and also took 2 sub-plots into each tree plot with an area of 1m×1m, to understand the regeneration characteristics under the mature stand. Mature mangrove stands in the Munshiganj area were structurally more complex than Burigoalini areas. Based on the importance value of species, the order of dominant regeneration species in the Munshiganj area is Excoecaria agallocha > Heritiera fomes > Ceriops decandra > Aegiceras corniculatum > Xylocarpus moluccensis > Avicennia officinalis. But in the Burigoalini area, the order is different. There the order are Ceriops decandra > Aegiceras corniculatum > Xylocarpus moluccensis > Excoecaria agallocha > Heritiera fomes > Avicennia officinalis. Though stocking diversity is similar between these two studied areas. Regeneration density had higher in the Munshiganj area than Burigoalini area, in terms of the individual number of seedling recruitment. Seedling Height and diameter are also higher in the Munshiganj area than in Burigoalini. In polyhaline zone success rate of mangrove regeneration under the mature stands was different compared with the stand density of mature trees. The present study about Sundarbans Reserve Forest in Bangladesh gives sufficient information for improved management in mature stands, including information on seedling recruitment, structure, and composition that indicates their ecological importance and may be taken into account in decision-making in the future.

• Supervision