Vol. 9, Issue 3, Part C (2025)

Mangroves ecosystems are one of the most productive systems in coastal wetlands. They are adapted to harsh climatic conditions and various abiotic and biotic stresses like high salinity, high temperature, high tides, strong winds, etc. The present paper depicts the comparative analysis of microbial activity and soil carbon sequestration potential in mangrove and rice ecosystem of the Sundarban delta. In our study seven different sites were selected based on the degradation status of mangroves from 1930 to 2013 by National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad in Sagar Island, Sundarban, India. In order to calibrate the carbon sequestration potential and microbial activity, soil physico-chemical properties (pH, EC, salinity, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil labile carbon (C) pools [readily mineralizable C (RMC), microbial biomass C (MBC), potassium permanganate oxidizable C (KMnO4-C), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)] and soil enzymatic activities [Dehydrogenase activity (DHA), fluorescein Di-acetate activity (FDA) and β-glucosidase activity (β-GLU)] were estimated in both mangrove and rice ecologies. Samples were collected from all the three depths (0-15 cm, 15-30 cm & 30-45 cm) of all sites. The soil labile C pools were significantly higher in mangrove ecosystem then the rice ecosystem. In contrast, the enzymatic activities were significantly higher in rice ecosystem. This paper investigates the significant impact of all three factors (i.e. ecology, site and depth) on the C- sequestration. In order to know the carbon sequestration potential, the interrelationship of microbial activity with SOM decomposition in the ecosystem need to understand.