Carbon sequestration and its relation with some soil properties of East Kolkata Wetlands (a Ramsar Site): a spatio-temporal study using radial basis functions

Determination of different environmental factors and their spatio-temporal variations is sparingly important theme in ecological science because the productivity of an ecosystem is regulated by these factors. Here in East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) through a web of canal the composite tannery effluent is discharged and these are productively used in the piscicultural and agricultural farming of this area. So, in concern of agro-piscicultural productivity it is very essential to know the present soil profile of EKW. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and some essential anions/nutrients like F, Cl, NO3, PO4 and SO4 in the agricultural/bank surface soils and bottom sediments are recorded from the seven different characteristic regions in EKW area. To describe precisely the variations of all these factors in spatio-temporal scale, the profile maps are constructed by using geostatistics. 1.03–2.25 % SOC in marginal bank soil and 1.26–2.42 % SOC in bottom soil are present in EKW area. Except NO3 all other measured anions are present higher concentration than normal level in EKW area and these have both positive and negative impact especially on the SOC concentration i.e. in carbon sequestration, anion-cation balance, ecotoxicity, nutrient availability of that area. Results of this study indicate that under proper management strategies of site specific use of tannery effluent will reduce the fertilizer/manure cost of farmers. These will surely increase the contribution of leather industry in ecologically and ecological productivity of EKW Ecosystem. © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.