Assessment and Attribution of Mangrove Forest Changes in the Indian Sundarbans from 2000 to 2020

Between 2000 and 2020, the Indian Sundarbans lost approximately 110 km² of mangrove forest to erosion within its reserve areas, while gaining about 81 km² through plantation and regeneration in inhabited zones. Despite these gains—primarily outside contiguous mangroves—satellite-derived health indicators (EVI and NDVI) reveal a pronounced deterioration in mangrove condition, especially in sea-facing regions. This decline correlates with rising salinity, temperature increases, and reduced rainfall during pre- and post-monsoon periods. The study, using supervised classification of Landsat and MODIS imagery, also documents shifts toward salt-tolerant species while freshwater-loving genera like Heritiera, Nypa, and Sonneratia decline. These findings underscore the Sundarbans' vulnerability to climate change, threatening its ecological integrity and carbon storage capacity.

Samanta, S., Hazra, S., Mondal, P. P., Chanda, A., Giri, S., French, J. R., & Nicholls, R. J. (2021). Assessment and Attribution of Mangrove Forest Changes in the Indian Sundarbans from 2000 to 2020. Remote Sensing, 13(24), 4957. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13244957