ISSN: 2578-4994
Authors: Akter S, Islam MS*, Mamun SA, Kabir MH and Suravi
Nutrient concentration is an important parameter to recognize critical processes of an ecosystem and it also controls the rates of ecosystem processes and primary productivity in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The study investigated the nutritional status in sediments, water and plant leaves from Ratargul swamp forest during the period from September 2016 to August 2017. The samples were collected from twelve sampling stations in four different canals of the swamp forest during dry (September 2016 to April 2017) and wet (May to August, 2017) seasons, respectively. The nutrient contents such as total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and total organic carbon (TOC) in sediments, water and leaves (green and brown) of both Koroch (Pongamia pinnata) and Hijal (Barrigtonia acutangula) plants were analysed in the laboratory of the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The TN, TP and TOC in sediments were ranged from 2.22 to 5.23, 0.032 to 0.035 and 2.6 to 4.52%, respectively, whereas TN and TP in water were found 5.34 to 22.54% and 0.002 to 0.366%, respectively. Result showed that the TOC in plant leaves was higher in wet season than in dry season, where the TN and TP were higher in dry season than in wet season due to high temperature which increases the rate of photosynthetic activities in the dry season. In both Koroch and Hijal plants, the TOC and TP were higher in green leaves than brown while TN was higher in brown leaves than green ones. It may be due to the presence of chlorophyll in the green leaves and carotenoids in the brown leaves. Moreover, a statistically significant positive correlation was found among the samples. The study concluded that the nutritional status in sediments, water and leaves were perfectly natural during both the dry and wet season which is suitable for aquatic environment.
Keywords: Nutritional Status; Ratargul Swamp Forest; Sediments; Water; Plant Leaves
