Abstract
The Gulf of Kachchh (GoK) is diversified with various marine habitats, influenced by semi-diurnal tidal amplitude and heavy sedimentation. Seagrass is one of the key habitats in GoK with the predominant diversity of Halophila ovalis, Halodule uninervis, and Thalassia hemprichii. The seagrass is subjected to be at risk than any other habitats due to natural and human impacts. Strategies need to be developed to conserve seagrass patches of inhospitable environments like GoK, which demands the present feasibility study on seagrass restoration. In the present study, the seagrass habitats of the GoK were assessed in Pirotan, Narara, and Mithapur reef areas. Halophila ovalis showed the most extensive coverage in all the studied sites during the study period (62.11 ± 5.60/m2 in Pirotan; 60.70 ± 7.24/m2 in Mithapur and 59.32 ± 5.45/m2 in Narara sites). Likewise, Thalassia hemprichii showed the least cover in all the three studied sites (25 ± 6.28/m2 at Narara; 28.93 ± 3.54/m2 in Pirotan and 31.78 ± 4.16/m2 in Mithapur sites). Site-specific strategies have been attempted to develop a successful seagrass restoration nursery for Ha. ovalis and H. uninervis in the GoK region. To restore the seagrass species, vegetative sprigs were planted using the staple method. To increase the stability, the sprigs were later planted by attaching them within the iron frame (1 m x 1 m size) with the support of metallic mesh. The water quality and physical property of the restoration sites were documented. Two potential seagrass meadows were also identified along the Marine National Park (MNP) which can act as donor sites for restoration along the GoK in future.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adhavan D, Kamboj RD, Marimuthu N, Bhallodi MM (2014) Seasonal variation and climate change influences coral bleaching in Pirotan island, Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park. Gujarat Curr Sci 107(11):1780–1781
Bjork M, Short F, Mcleod E, Beer S (2008) Managing seagrasses for resilience to climate change. IUCN, Gland, pp 1–60
Chatterjee A, Ray JS (2017) Source and decomposition pathways of mid-Holocene sediments in the Great Rann of Kachchh, India: Implication for a fluvial scenario during the Harappan Culture. Quat Int 433:177–187
Cunha AH, Marba NN, van Katwijk MM, Pickerell C, Henriques M, Bernard G, Ferreira MA, Garcia S, Garmendia JM, Manent P (2012) Changing paradigms in seagrass restoration. Restore Ecol 20:427–430
Dixit AM, Kumar P, Kumar L, Pathak KD, Patel MI (2010) Economic valuation of coral reef systems in the Gulf of Kachchh, Final Report, World Bank aided Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project, Submitted to Gujarat Ecology Commission, pp 158
Edward JKP, Raj KD, Mathews G, Kumar PD, Arasamuthu A, Bilgi D’Souza N, D S, (2019) Seagrass restoration in Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, Southeast India: a viable management tool. Environ Monit Assess 191:430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7546-5
English S, Wilkinson C, Baker V (1997) Survey manual for Tropical Marine Resources. Australian Institute of MarineScience, Townsville, Australia, p 390
Fonseca MS (1992) Restoring seagrass systems in the United States. In: Thayer GW (ed) Restoring the nation’s marine environment. Maryland Sea Grant College Publ. UM-SG-TS, College Park, pp 92–106
Fonseca MS, Kenworthy WJ, Thayer GW (1987) Transplanting of the seagrasses Halodule wrightii, Syringodium filiforme, and Thalassia testudinum for sediment stabilization and habitat development in the southeast region of the United States, US, Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. Technical Report EL-87–8. pp 58
Fonseca MS, Kenworthy WJ, Thayer GW (1998) Guidelines for the conservation and restoration of seagrasses in the United States and adjacent waters, NOAA’S COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM Decision Analysis Series No. 12, pp 230
Fonseca MS (1994) A guide to transplanting seagrasses in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas A&M University Sea Grant College Program. TX. TAMU-SG-94–601. pp 26
Gordon DM (1996) Status of seagrass restoration: a review of international literature. In: D. Le Provost, P. Moore (ed) Western Australia
IUCN (2007) Climate change, Coastal Ecosystems. http://iucn.org/places/asia/coastalinfor/docs/Coastal_Ecosystems_Newsletter_6.pdf. Accessed on February 6, October 2007
Johnstone IM (1978) The ecology and distribution of Papua New Guinea seagrasses II, The Fly Islands and Raboin Island. Aquat Bot 5:235–243
Kamboj RD (2014) Biology and status of seagrasses in Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park and Sanctuary, India. Indian Ocean Newsl 19:8–11
Kenworthy WJ, Fonseca MS (1992) The use of fertilizer to enhance the growth of transplanted seagrasses Zostera marina L. and Halodule wrightii Aschers. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 163:141–161
Lanyon JM, Limpus CJ, Marsh H (1989) Dugongs and turtles: grazers in the seagrass system. In: Larkum AWD, Mc Comb AJ, Shepherd SA (eds) Biology of Seagrasses. A Treatise on the Biology of Seagrasses with Special Reference to the Australian Region. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 610–634
Matheson FM, Reed J, Dos Santos VM, Mackay G, Cummings VJ (2016) Seagrass rehabilitation: successful transplants and evaluation of methods at different spatial scales. N Z J Mar Fresh Res 51(1):96–109
McMillan C (1984) The distribution of tropical seagrasses with relation to their tolerance of high temperatures. Aquat Bot 19:369–379
Michael LD, Rao G, Krishna KS, Vora KH (2009) Late Quaternary seismic sequence stratigraphy of the Gulf of Kachchh, northwest of India. J Coast Res 25(2):459–468
Nair VR (2002) Status of Flora and Fauna of Gulf of Kachchh, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. pp 157
Nayruti SB, Nandini RC, Dharmendra GS, Nikhil DD (2011) Sedimentation pattern in Pirotan reef, Gulf of Kachchh, India. J Mar Biol Ass Ind 53(1):1–7
Nobi EP, Dilipan E, Sivakumar K, Thangaradjou T (2011) Distribution and biology of seagrass resources of Lakshadweep group of islands, India. Ind J Geo Mar Sci 40(5):624–634
Paling EI, Fonseca M, van Katwijk MM, van Keulen M (2009) Seagrass restoration. In: Perillo GME, Wolanski E, Cahoon DR, Brinson MM (eds) Coastal wetlands: an integrated ecosystem approach. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 687–713
Phillips RC (1980) Planting guidelines for seagrasses. Coastal Engineering Technical Aid No. 80–2. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Ramaswamy V, Nagender NB, Vethamony P, Illangovan D (2007) Source and dispersal of suspended sediment in macro-tidal Gulf of Kachchh. Mar Poll Bull 54:708–719
Rogers CS (1990) Responses of coral reefs and reeforganisms to sedimentation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 62:185–202
SAC (2010) Coral Reef Atlas of the World Vol.1 Central Indian Ocean. Space Application Centre, (I.S.R.O.), Ahmedabad, India
Satyanarayana Ch, Ramakrishna (2009) Handbook on hard corals of Gulf of Kachchh, Zool Surv India, Kolkata, India, pp 114
Seddon S (2004) Going with the flow: facilitating seagrass restoration. Ecol Manag Rest 5:167–176
Singh HS (2003) Marine Protected Areas in India. Ind J Mar Sci 32(3):226–233
Singh HS, Pandey CN, Yennawar P, Asari RJ, Patel BH, Tatu K, Raval BR (2004) The Marine National Park and Sanctuary in the Gulf of Kachchh – a comprehensive study on biodiversity and management issues. GEER Foundation, Gandhinagar, p 46
Thangaradjou T, Bhatt JR (2018) Status of seagrass ecosystems in India. Ocean Coast Mngt 159:7–15
WII (2019) Recovery of Dugongs and their habitats in India - an integrated participatory approach. Annual Progress Report-III, pp 184
Acknowledgements
The authors thank SPMU (ICZM), Gujarat and Forest Department for extending the facilities and support to survey the MNP area. The first author would like to thank Rufford Small Grant for the funding support to develop the nursery technology. Authors would also like to thank Dr. Karthick Raji from NCSCM for his valuable support during this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adhavan, D., Chandran, R. & Sivakumar, K. Diversity of seagrasses and site-specific strategy for their restoration in Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park—Gujarat, India. J Coast Conserv 26, 20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00863-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00863-6