Evaluation of soil quality and its impact on mangroves forest Indus delta, Pakistan

Abstract

The geochemical and texture of forests soil on different aspects have been widely studied, but the adverse effects of environmental degradation poses deterioration on mangroves forest soil of different mangroves species has not been broadly in the literature. The aim of the research was to find out the reasons for the change in forests density along with the extinction of mangroves species and to determine the detrimental impacts of forest soil on mangroves of Keti Bunder, Indus delta, Pakistan. The field study of the Indus delta has been conducted during the year 2021-22. The soil samples were collected from each root zone at different depths (25, 50, and 70 cm) of mangroves species (A.marina, R.mucronata, C.tagal, and A.corniculatum) that presently exist in Pakistan. To evaluate the soil quality, some physical and chemical parameters (pH, Salinity, TDS, TOC, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Nitrate, Phosphate, Iron, and Chromium) were used to evaluate the adversity of the pollution. The statistical results have also been calculated by using Descriptive and Principal Component Analysis to find out the level of parameters dispersed in soil and their effects that may cause extinction of mangroves species from Pakistan. Keywords: Species extinction, Adverse impacts, Soil quality, Physico-chemical, Indus delta