Early study on the mangrove coverage condition in the West Coast of North Sumatera Province, Indonesia

Joko Samiaji¹⁾, Muh. Isnan Alindra¹⁾, Muh. Ihram¹⁾, and Teguh Heryanto²⁾

¹⁾ Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science University of Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia

¹⁾ ‘Matauli’ College for Marine Science and Fishery, Tapanuli Tengah, Indonesia

Abstract. The mangrove forest along the western coast of North Sumatera Province is among the less studied in Indonesia, yet the threats for this ecosystem were persistently increasing. With its ca. 200 km shoreline, Central Tapanuli Municipality hosts the highest area of the mangrove in the western coast of North Sumatera. Activities from the anthropogenic sources occur in the area as the consequence of rapid development in the region. The research has been conducted in February-March 2019 by using Hemispherical Photography Method with the objective in studying the status of the mangrove community through analyzing mangrove density, vegetation coverage and important value index. Three locations were selected as the site for the study.  The study resulted that a number of 11 mangrove species from 8 families. Based on the ecological parameter, the habitat from all study sites were in the range for supporting the life of mangrove vegetation. The vegetation densities were in the range between 1,400 and 1,511 trees.ha^-1, indicating of medium to dense categories. For the canopy coverage, the study sites fell into the category of medium to heavily covered with the coverage value ranged from 72.6-76.64%.  The results on Important Value Index analysis showed that all species were found in the range of between 3.25%-100.77%. The lowest and highest values were given by Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea and Rhizophora apiculata, respectively. The study concluded that the overall condition of the mangrove forest in the study site was considered as in a good to healthy condition.

(1) Correspondence address: Joko_samiaji@yahoo.com