Cyclone Sidr Impacts on the Sundarbans Floristic Diversity

A severe tropical cyclone, Sidr, struck the Sundarbans in November 2007, causing significant damage to its floristic diversity. The study found that approximately 45% of the Bangladesh portion of this UNESCO World Heritage Site (about 2500 sq. km) was affected, with three key mangrove species—Heritiera fomes (Sundari), Excoecaria agallocha (Gewa), and Sonneratia apetala (Kewra)—showing notable declines in abundance. Remote sensing techniques, including unsupervised classification (ISODATA) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) analysis of Landsat 7 ETM+ images from 2007 to 2010, revealed that post-cyclone regeneration occurred at a faster rate between 2009-2010 compared to 2008-2009. The findings highlight the Sundarbans' resilience but also underscore the temporary loss of diversity following extreme disturbances, which took three years to recover. This study demonstrates the efficiency of remote sensing in assessing and monitoring such ecological impacts.

Bhowmik, A. K., & Cabral, P. (2013). Cyclone Sidr Impacts on the Sundarbans Floristic Diversity. Earth Science Research, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.5539/esr.v2n2p62