Continuous monitoring of salinity fluctuations in coastal Andaman Islands: Status of ongoing mangrove monitoring program in India

Presented at International Conference on Mangroves for Sustainability, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 22-24 July 2024.

1. Presented by: Utchimahali M, Ph. D
Affiliation: Centre for International Forestry Research & World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)
Country : India
Authors : Utchimahali M, Anoop Raj Singh, ThirumuruganV, ShamnaK T, Nehru Prabakaran,
` and Rupesh K Bhomia
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Continuously Monitoring Salinity
Fluctuations in Coastal Andaman
Islands: Status of Ongoing Mangrove
Monitoring Program in India
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Background
Monitoring salinity fluctuations in Andaman Islands post-2004 earthquake
•The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake caused significant
topographical changes across the islands, including coastal uplift
and subsidence
•Coastal uplift, - drop in sea level, and subsidence, - rise in sea
level - Challenges for mangrove ecology including survival and
distribution.
Objective

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Study Sites
•Locations: North Andaman (NA), Middle
Andaman (MA), South Andaman (SA).
•Describes geomorphological changes (uplift,
control, subsidence)
Uplifted
subsided
No change

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Methodology
Monitoring Salinity and Temperature
•Deployment of HOBO U24-002-C salinity loggers
•Data collection every 15 minutes for 10 months
•Setup details: PVC pipes, logger installation
Data Collection on Precipitation
•Use of Artificial Neural Networks for remote
sensing data
•Centre for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing
(CHRS) (https://chrsdata.eng.uci.edu/)
Statistical Analysis
•Analysis using Dunken’s Multiple Range Test
(DMRT)
•Intra-month salinity and temperature fluctuation
analysis

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Results
•Seasonal and site-level variations
•Comparison of salinity levels in NA, MA, and SA
•Highlight significant findings during monsoon and summer seasons
Spatial and Temporal Pattern of Salinity

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Month
Salinity (ppm) Temperature (° C)
NA MA SA NA MA SA
June 2023 25.33±0.10
c
18.97±0.07
a
20.83±0.06
b
28.48±0.01
b
28.28±0.00
a
29.35±0.01
c
July 2023 23.74±0.00
c
12.42±0.01
a
19.97±0.00
b
28.14±0.02
b
27.87±0.08
a
28.85±0.04
c
August 2023 23.18±0.03
c
17.72±0.10
a
20.00±0.02
b
28.60±0.00
b
28.35±0.00
a
29.30±0.01
c
September 202320.70±0.01
c
10.19±0.01
a
14.99±0.01
b
27.80±0.03
b
27.39±0.08
a
28.14±0.05
c
October 2023 16.47±0.00
c
10.10±0.01
a
14.74±0.01
b
27.58±0.03
b
27.52±0.02
a
28.10±0.05
c
November 202317.48±3.06
c
11.29±2.72
a
14.74±2.60
b
27.85±0.21
a
28.00±0.20
b
28.10±0.34
c
December 202320.08±0.01
c
12.78±0.04
a
14.74±0.05
b
27.66±0.00
a
28.13±0.00
b
28.10±0.01
c
January 202421.62±0.01
c
12.55±0.02
a
14.74±0.05
b
26.70±0.00
a
27.33±0.01
b
28.10±0.01
c
February 202419.65±0.17
c
12.82±0.02
a
14.74±0.05
b
26.54±0.01
a
27.22±0.00
b
28.10±0.01
c
March 2024 25.50±0.01
c
13.04±0.01
a
14.74±0.05
b
26.87±0.00
a
27.20±0.00
b
28.10±0.02
c
Monthly mean salinity and temperature
NA: North Andaman, MA: Middle Andaman, SA: South Andaman. Different alphabet (superscript) in each row
denotes significant differences between sites at p < 0.05 level.

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Intra-Month Fluctuations
Correlation between the
intramonth salinity
fluctuations and the
precipitation (r = - 1.79)

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Discussion
•Impact of coastal uplift and subsidence on salinity
•High salinity trends in NA linked to mangrove loss
•MA and SA salinity patterns and their implications
Implications for Mangrove Conservation
•Understanding salinity patterns for conservation
•Potential applications for predicting mangrove responses to climate
change

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Acknowledgement
•Sustainable Wetland Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP)
•Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-
ICRAF)
•Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
•Department of Environment and Forest Andaman Nicobar Islands
•International Conference on Mangroves for Sustainability (ICMS –2024)

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References
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and Biogeography Letters, 7(1), 27-47.
2.Parida, A. K., & Jha, B. (2010). Salt tolerance mechanisms in mangroves: a review. Trees, 24(2), 199-217
3.Mitsch,W.J.,&Gosselink,J.G.(2015).Wetlands. John Wiley & Sons
4.Gilman, E. L., Ellison, J., Duke, N. C., & Field, C. (2008). Threats to mangroves from climate change and adaptation options: A review.
Aquatic Botany, 89(2), 237-250.
5.Subramanian, B. R., Suresh, I., & Ravindran, M. (2006). The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami's impact on the South Andaman coast. Current
Science, 90(4), 502-504.
6.Satyanarayana, B., Mohamad, K. A., Idris, I. F., Husain, M. L., Dahdouh-Guebas, F., & Koedam, N. (2010). Mangrove species distribution
and abundance in relation to local environmental settings: a case-study at Tumpat, Kelantan Delta, east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
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7.Nguyen, P., Shearer, E.J., Tran, H., Ombadi, M., Hayatbini, N., Palacios, T., Huynh, P., Braithwaite, D., Updegraff, G., Hsu, K. and
Kuligowski, B., 2019. The CHRS Data Portal, an easily accessible public repository for PERSIANN global satellite precipitation
data.Scientific data,6(1), pp.1-10.
8.Wang, W., Xin, K., Chen, Y., Chen, Y., Jiang, Z., Sheng, N., Liao, B. and Xiong, Y., 2024. Spatio-temporal variation of water salinity in
mangroves revealed by continuous monitoring and its relationship to floristic diversity.Plant Diversity,46(1), pp.134-143.
9.Ramakrishnan, R., Gladston, Y., Kumar, N. L., Rajput, P., Murali, R. M. and Rajawat, A. S. (2020). Impact of 2004 co-seismic coastal uplift
on the mangrove cover along the North Andaman Islands. Regional Environmental Change, 20(1), 6.

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For more information please visit our project website
https://www.cifor-icraf.org/mangrove-monitoring-india/