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Mangroves: A Sink of Heavy Metals

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Abstract

Rapid industrialization, intense urbanization, expansion of aquaculture, unplanned tourism and establishment of fish landing units has caused a serious environmental impact on different aspects including biodiversity and health of mangroves. Mangroves are one of the most highly dynamic ecosystems which could sensitively reflect variations within the environment. Mangroves and their sediments have an important ecological value because they can act as natural sinks for heavy metals owing to the high capacity to sequester such metals from tidal waters, estuaries, rivers and other sources. However, according to the author the significant assimilating potential of mangroves does not mean that the system should be used as bin of conservative wastes. Implementation of water pollution prevention strategies and restoration of ecological systems coupled with mass awareness are integral components to maintain the health of mangroves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Abhijit Mitra

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  1. Abhijit Mitra
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Mitra, A. (2020). Mangroves: A Sink of Heavy Metals. In: Mangrove Forests in India. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20595-9_5

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