The 11th International Conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences (ABS 2025)

Abstract: Forests play a critical role in global food security and maintain the environmental conditions necessary for food production. Mangrove provides several ecosystem services that include provisioning, regulatory, supporting and cultural services enhancing food security, especially for coastal communities. In many tropical countries, communities depend heavily on rich biodiversity of mangrove ecosystems for daily subsistence, fishing and harvesting of shellfish. Mangrove provide edible resource essential to the diets and livelihoods of coastal communities. It has been found that local communities are critically dependent on Sundarbans, world largest single tract mangrove forest, for subsistence and income with food provisioning services forming the backbone of this relationship. Major provisioning services identified include collection of honey, crabs, prawn fries, fish, fuelwood, fruits and leaf litter—vital to local income and food security. It has been found that about 38-88% households community rely on mangroves ecosystems services living adjacent to Indian Sundarbans. These swamp forests provide critical habitats for a wide range of marine species, including fish, crabs, shrimp, and mollusks, many of which are key sources of protein of the local people. Mangrove-based honey and wild fruits also contribute to food variety and income. Local communities around Sundarbans use fruits and leaves of Mangrove apple/mangrove guava for preparing Jam, jelly, key forage for deer, monkey etc.; use Nipa fruits, sweet sap for palm sugar (a honey substitute), fresh drink, toddy (fermented), vinegar, common traditional medicine, fruits of Bruguiera gymnorhiza, B. sexangula are used and know as functional fruit; fruits of Avicennia officinalis, A. marina (black mangrove); Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, R mangle (Red Mangroves) are commonly used during the time of famine or for traditional purpose, fruits juice are famous for wine, young shoots as vegetable (need special preparation); fruits of Xylocarpus granatum; Acanthus ilicifolius leaves are common as herbal tea whereas the non-spiny variety are fodder for livestock; whereas the young frond of Acrostichum aureum are eaten raw or prepared stream vegetable dishes. Mangroves reduce the vulnerability of coastal food systems to climate change by stabilizing coastlines and reducing erosion. In times of disaster or crop failure, mangrove ecosystems act as fallback food sources for local populations. Fish and Prawn Fry Collection, Crab collection and crab-fattening, Fishing, Honey and Wax Collection, Edible Plant Products (fruits, leaves, and seeds) emerged as the top economic activity, contributing roughly 80% of ecosystem-derived income in some areas. Their role in carbon sequestration helps mitigate the broader effects of global warming from local to distance climate that threaten food production systems. Mangrove ecosystems are vital carbon reservoirs in the global carbon cycle, reducing greenhouse gases. They influence local climates by providing shade and humidity, which can enhance crop yields. Analyses explored the influences of plant species of Bangladesh Sundarban on Soil organic carbon (SOC) and rhizosphere soil respiration (Rs). While rhizosphere soil of distinct plant species displayed varying SOC values, Rs did not exhibit significant differences among different plant species, and no significant relation was observed between Rs and SOC values. Bangladesh Sundarbans was noted to store substantial amounts of organic carbon in their soils, yet they released relatively less carbon dioxide (CO2) through soil respiration compared to other tropical forests. This unique characteristic underscores the critical role of mangroves in global climate change dynamics. Conclusively, our study offers insightful information about the carbon dynamics of the Bangladesh SMF, emphasizing the significance of mangroves as carbon reservoirs with the potential to influence to climate change adaptation strategies.

Biography: Professor Dr. Ashfaque Ahmed has completed his B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. in Plant Ecology from the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He completed his MS in Natural Resource Management from Norway and PhD in Coastal Zone Ecology from the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He has been working on different aspects including species diversity, genetic diversity, phytoplankton diversity, soil and water quality assessment, Ecosystem health, C-sequestration and C-reserves of plants and soils, and soil respiration of different forest ecosystems of Bangladesh namely Sundarban mangrove forests and Deciduous forests, and uses of GIS techniques and Satellite images in resource assessment, forest health, change detection of land use patterns of different ecosystems including Bangladesh, India and Nepal. He has supervised more than 20 MS and MPhil students and 1 PhD student. Currently he is supervising 4 MS and 3 PhD students. He has published more than 35 articles in different renowned journals published from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Spain. He has been as the Executive Editor of Bangladesh Journal of Botany since 2021. He is currently holding the position of Secretary General of Bangladesh Botanical Society and Joint-General Secretary of Dhaka University Botany Alumni Association (DUBAA).