Decomposition and Seasonal Changes in Nutrient Constituents in Mangrove (Sonneratiaapetala) Litter of Newly Emerged Deltaic Island (Nayachar) on the River Hooghly, West Bengal, India: r.e,f Soil Microarthropods

Mangrove leaf litter (Sonneratia apetala) fall and decomposition was estimated using litter bags throughout the year (Pre monsoon, monsoon, and post monsoon) at four sites of Nayachar Island (Latitude 21⁰58’33’’N and longitude 88⁰ 04’54’’E). The degrading leaf litter (Sonneratia apetala) forms a high nutrient material that is consumed by a wide variety of organisms, specially soil microarthropods and release nutrients to the mangrove ecosystem for recycling as well. This study presents the decomposition rate for Sonneratia apetala leaf litter throughout the year. It also quantifies physico-chemical factors along with microarthropods population abundance throughout the decomposition process. Soil microarthropods help ecosystem functioning by way of imparting important role of food chain, food-web system vis-a-vis in tropic relationships and also help nutrient cycling as decomposer. This study showed that breakdown of leaf litter was season and microarthropods population dependent.