Estimation of mangrove biomass and carbon absorption of Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystems can reduce CO2 through a mechanism of sequestration which is absorption of carbon from the atmosphere and its storage in several compartments such as plants, litter and soil organic matter. The purpose of this study was to determine carbon uptake in the mangrove vegetation of Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata in Banda Aceh. The research was carried out in two sampling sites, those were Gampong Jawa and Lambaro Skep Banda Aceh on January to March, 2018. This research was conducted at Marine Chemistry and marine Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Syiah Kuala University. The method used in this study was destructive sampling method. The results of the study showed that the amount of carbon absorption by Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata were 4033.33 g CO2/tree and 3888.36 g CO2/tree, respectively. The results of statistical calculations using the t-test showed that the carbon absorption of Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata did not different significantly, where the value of p> 0.05 (p = 0.33). Furthermore, the differences between sites also showed that the two stations were not significantly different, with a value of p> 0.05 (p = 0.47).