Kadolkele Mangrove Reserve (Sinhala: කඩොල්කැලේ කඩොලාන රක්ෂිතය) is a small mangrove forest patch located on the right bank of the Northern part of Negombo Estuary in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. It belongs to the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency [(NARA) Priyadarshani et al., 2008]. It is also a popular site for mangrove-related field studies of the country (Dissanayake & Chandrasekara, 2014).
Extending into an area of 10 ha, the reserve is home to 30 mangrove species and of them, 19 are considered as true mangroves (Dahanayaka et al., 2015; Dissanayake & Chandrasekara, 2014; Priyadarshani et al., 2008). The highest abundance of mangroves is from the 3 mangrove families, namely, Rhizophoraceae, Avicenniaceae, and Combretaceae (Dissanayake & Chandrasekara, 2014). The reserve also remains as a habitat for 32 other types of vegetation, 44 bird species and 35 fish species (Dahanayaka et al., 2015).
The geographic region of the Kadolkele Mangrove Forest area receives an average annual rainfall of 2,400 mm (Dissanayake & Chandrasekara, 2014). The average temperature varies between 24 °C and 30 °C (Dissanayake & Chandrasekara, 2014).
References
1)
Dahanayaka, D.D.G.L., Wimalasena, H.D. and Pahalawattaarachchi, V., 2015. Potential of the conservation-oriented mangrove-based ecotourism; A case study of Kadolkele Mangrove Reserve, Negombo, Sri Lanka. Journal of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, 44, pp.31-44.
2) Dissanayake, N. and Chandrasekara, U., 2014. Effects of mangrove zonation and the physicochemical parameters of soil on the distribution of macrobenthic fauna in Kadolkele mangrove forest, a tropical mangrove forest in Sri Lanka. Advances in Ecology, 2014.
3) Priyadarshani, S.H.R., Jayamanne, S.C. and Hirimuthugoda, Y.N., 2008. Diversity of mangrove crabs in Kadolkele, Negombo eatuary, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 13. pp.109-121.
2) Dissanayake, N. and Chandrasekara, U., 2014. Effects of mangrove zonation and the physicochemical parameters of soil on the distribution of macrobenthic fauna in Kadolkele mangrove forest, a tropical mangrove forest in Sri Lanka. Advances in Ecology, 2014.
3) Priyadarshani, S.H.R., Jayamanne, S.C. and Hirimuthugoda, Y.N., 2008. Diversity of mangrove crabs in Kadolkele, Negombo eatuary, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 13. pp.109-121.
Explore Other Nearby Attractions
Location Map
This page was last updated on 29 May 2023
