DOI:- https://doi.org/10.64880/shikshasamvad.v3i4.19

Author(s): Govind Shankar Singh¹, Avinash Sharma²

Abstract

The Gulf of Kutch is home to significant mangrove and halophytic vegetation and the only unique semi-arid coastal plant assemblage of India. There is interaction of hypersalinity, tidal exposure, sediment instability and coastal development which affect plant behaviour and community resilience. This paper uses a mixed-method ecological framework comprising secondary literature, official forest and coastal reports, proposed field sampling and geospatial interpretation, to examine the behavioural change of mangrove and halophytic flora. The study explores different plant responses which manifested at plant morphological, physiological, population and community levels again included salt secretion and osmotic adjustment, leaf succulence and root aeration, zonation shifts and dominance patterns, recruitment potential and recovery capacity. Since no fundamental field dataset was provided for this manuscript, the results section separates evidence-based analytical synthesis from simulated demonstration tables and figures that are merely intended to illustrate possible statistical and geospatial interpretation. The synthesis suggests that the main resilient mangrove species suitable for growing at river deltas and landward habitats exposed to acidity in the Gulf is Avicennia marina. Further, salt-marsh halophytes are an ecologically important transition belt species in higher salinity and disturbed habitats. The disturbance of coastal areas by port activities, salt-pan expansion, grazing, industry, sediment alteration and hydrology is likely to affect species diversity, regeneration, canopy continuity and resilience, testing of stress threshold. The manuscript presents a disturbance–resilience matrix, a salinity–vegetation response model and a management framework to ensure hydrological restoration, native species revival, GIS-based monitoring, legal enforcement and community participation. According to the study, one should not assess KCCT resilience in Kutch based on mangrove-cover expansion but functional diversity, regeneration, zonation integrity and stability over a long time.

Keywords: Gulf of Kutch; Avicennia marina; halophytes; salinity stress; coastal disturbance; ecological resilience; mangrove restoration.

Cite this Article: 

Govind Shankar Singh¹, Avinash Sharma² ,“ Behavioural Transformation of Mangrove and Halophytic Flora in the Gulf of Kutch: An Analytical Study of Salinity Stress, Coastal Disturbance and Ecological Resilience” Shiksha Samvad International Open Access Peer-Reviewed & Refereed Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, ISSN: 2584-0983 (Online), Volume 03, Issue 04, Pp.157-180, June-2026. Journal URL: https://shikshasamvad.com/