Mangroves Response to Sea Level Changes at Chilka Lake, Orissa

Chilka is a very rich preserve of ecological biodiverstity both backish and freshwater species, including several endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species. Presently, the mangroves are totally lacking around Chilka Lake owing to the excessive biotic pressure that was otherwise festooned by the mangrove forest in the near past. The paper embodies the results obtained from the fine resolution playnostratigraphy from Solari, Chilka lake coveing a time span of 2, 000 years B. P. and highlighted the significance of mangroves in unfolding the fluctuations in the sea margin. Based on the subtle changes in the composition of vegetation, efforts are made to evaluate depositional environments, trangressive and regressive facies, etc. The extermination of mangroves at Solari since 1, 250 years B. P. could be assigned to the human holocaust.