Community Structure and Health Status of Mangrove Ecosystem in Anambas Islands Marine Tourism Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Mangroves are one of the coastal ecosystems that can adapt to tidal areas with highly saline environments. This community plays a crucial role in ecological and economic functions, such as prevention of abrasion and seawater intrusion, providing habitat for biotas, nutrient recirculation, carbon sinking and storage, and mangrove educational tourism. The climatic changes and anthropogenic activities affect the mangrove ecosystem and thus need protection and conservation. The novelty of this research is that it is conducted in a marine protected area and was carried out at several stations consisting of zones such as the core zone, utilization, and others. This research does provide scientific literation about the community structure and health index of the mangrove ecosystem in the Anambas Islands as one of the first steps for ecosystem protection and management. This study was conducted at twelve stations using the squared line transect (10x10 m; 5x5 m; 1x1 m) to calculate vegetation density, and hemispherical photography method to calculate the percentage of canopy cover. The results showed that nine mangrove species were found at the study site: Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Xylocarpus granatum, Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora stylosa, Rhizophora lamarckii, Avicennia marina, and Aegiceras floridum. The status of mangrove ecosystem in Anambas Islands is categorized as good and dense condition with a percentage of canopy cover of 85.18% and a density of 2797 ind/ha. The result shows that management of this coastal ecosystem has been carried out well and can develop other potential to support the area’s conservation function.