SEAGRASS COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND CARBON STOCK OF SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEMS IN SEMUJUR ISLAND, BANGKA BELITUNG ISLAND

• Main Author: Himmarila Muliawati, Aldina
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Ilmu hayati ; Biologi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/79882
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Seagrass meadows are blue carbon ecosystems that sequester CO2 on a large scale and are therefore important in the mitigation of climate change. Semujur Island in Bangka Belitung Province is representative of many small islands in Indonesia. This research aims to (1) describe the community structure on Semujur Island, (2) estimate carbon storage in the seagrass ecosystem, and (3) analyze the relationship between seagrass community structure and carbon stocks at three different locations, i.e., A, B, and C. The seagrass community structure data collected is in the form of density, frequency, and seagrass cover to then be used in calculating indices of importance, diversity, evenness, dominance and similarity. Carbon stocks are estimated in three compartments, namely aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), and sediment. Calculation of the organic carbon content of seagrass biomass and sediment was carried out using the %LOI (loss of ignition) method. Results of this study found that there are eight species of seagrass on Semujur Island, i.e., Cymodocea rotundata, Enhalus acoroides, Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis, Oceana serrulata, Thalassia hemprichii, Thalassodendron ciliatum, and Syringodium isoetifolium. The density, frequency, seagrass cover, and highest importance value index at the three data collection locations varied between the four species, namely E. acoroides, H. uninervis, T. hemprichii, and T. ciliatum. The highest diversity index was found at location A (1.72), the highest evenness index was found at location C (0.92), and the highest dominance index was found at location B (0.28). The highest carbon stock estimate was obtained at location C (75.11 MgC/ha) dominated by H. uninervis species; followed by site B (50.55 MgC/ha) dominated by T. hemprichii and lastly site A (45.40 MgC/ha) dominated by H. uninervis. Correlation between seagrass community structure (density and coverage) and carbon stocks showed moderate positive correlation (0.430 and 0.528 respectively) (p < 0.05). Such ecological relationships should be a consideration in the management of blue carbon stocks.