Diversity of true mangroves and their associates in the Pondicherry region of South India and development of a mangrove knowledgebase

Abstract

Mangroves are salt–tolerant forest ecosystems of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. There may be no other group of plants with such highly developed morphological and physiological adaptations to extreme conditions. They are a rich source of steroids, triterpenes, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids and tannins. The Pondicherry region in South India has no forest, but has scattered patches of mangroves and remnants of tropical dry evergreen forest in the form of sacred groves. The present study documents the directly observed diversity of true mangroves and their associates, in four geographical regions of Pondicherry in South India; namely Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. These places are far from one another and the mangrove species diversity varies from one place to another, due to factors such as climate, tidal factors and anthropogenic pressures. In addition, we have also developed a knowledgebase entitled “Mangroves of Pondicherry”, which contains information including botanical name, English name, local name (Tamil language), Family, description, images and common uses of true mangroves and their associates. This knowledge resource is available for open access at http://web.iitd.ac.in/~sundar/mangroves/.   Key words: Mangroves, knowledgebase, sacred groves, tropical dry evergreen forest, Pondicherry, South India