著者

加藤 茂 酒井 裕司 小島 紀徳

出版者

日本海水学会

雑誌

日本海水学会誌 = Bulletin of the Society of Sea Water Science, Japan (ISSN:03694550)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.67, no.6, pp.305-317, 2013-12-01

参考文献数

70

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Vegetated coastal habitats - mangrove forests, salt-marshes and seagrass meadows - for blue carbon sink purposes are very important ecosystems. They provide valuable ecosystem functions, including a large carbon sink capacity and very rich biodiversity for human sustenance. Mangrove forests are considered bio indicators among marine-river estuary ecosystems in sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world. It is a unique habitat for several fresh and salt water species. The present research is aimed at studying the carbon accumulation and food cycle system in a rehabilitated mangrove site in southern Thailand. The rehabilitation of mangroves at abandoned shrimp ponds in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand, has been taking place since 1998. Almost seven million mangrove trees have been planted over 1200 ha of abandoned shrimp ponds and new mud flats. It is observed that the mangrove plantation increases the population of species like crab, shellfish, shrimp and fish at the rehabilitated mangrove site. The food cycle system of the rehabilitated mangrove site and its surrounding mangrove forests is being studied. Stable isotopes such as δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C are monitored as a primary parameter to study the food cycle system in the mangrove forests and the coast around the mangrove forests. It has been found that the δ¹⁵N content in living organisms gradually accumulates from small phytoplankton to large fish in the food cycle system. The δ¹³C content in living organisms also gradually accumulates from phytoplankton to large fish in the food cycle system. The analysis data reveals that carnivorous fish enter the 12 to 13th stage of the food cycle system, which is triggered by the fall of mangrove leaves in the rehabilitated mangrove forest. Carbon portion of the soil also increased at the rehabilitated mangrove planting site. The rehabilitated mangrove forest will act as a sink source for atmospheric carbon and develop rich biodiversity of a marine-river estuary ecosystem.