UNAIR NEWS – Mangrove forest is a potential natural resource in Indonesia, a unique form of forest ecosystem, located in tidal zones of coastal areas, beaches, and several small islands. Mangrove forests are included as non-timber forests recognized as important economic resources.
Mangroves provide many valuable ecosystem services, supporting, providing, regulating, and cultural. This is the background of Dr. Sucipto Hariyanto Dea with his team to find out the structure of mangrove ecosystem which includes mangrove species, diversity, dominance, and zoning patterns in the Bama Resort Baluran National Park.
“Our research can be a reference in the management of mangroves, especially in Baluran National Park and generally in East Java,” explained the lecturer of Faculty of Science and Technology.
As supporting aspect, he continued, mangrove forests provide ecosystem services including land formation, photosynthesis, primary production, nutrient cycle, water cycle, supporting seagrass ecosystems and coral reef ecosystems. As a provider, mangroves as habitat support fisheries production both for consumption fish and ornamental fish, and provide spawning habitats for fish.
In general, people who live near mangrove forests are fish catchers. These communities harvest shrimp, shellfish, fish, crabs, and sea snails from the mangrove ecosystem to generate income and food for their families. They also use the wood for fuel, building materials, and other things.
“One of the impacts of human activities in coastal areas that affect the sustainability of natural resources is the destruction of mangrove ecosystems, that damage and disruption of growth can be a problem for mangrove regeneration in the future. The existence of mangrove ecosystems plays an important role for the continuity of ecological and hydrological processes, “he said.
The results of the research showed that there are 6 types of mangrove making up the vegetation consisting of 2 families, the family Rhizophoraceae and Araceae family. Mangrove zonation patterns from coastline to land are Rhizopora stylosa, Rhizopora mucronata, and Rhizophora apiculata in the outer zone (zone adjacent to the sea). Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Ceriops tagal in the middle zone. Nypa fruticans in the bordering zone with onshore mangroves.
Author: Dian Putri Apriliani
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
Link :https://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/biosaintifika/article/view/19111/9185
Sucipto Hariyanto, Akhmad Kharish Fahmi, Thin Soedarti, Emy Endah Suwarni. 2019. Vegetation and Community Structure of Mangrove in Bama Resort Baluran National Park Situbondo East Java. Journal of Biology & Biology Education, 11(1): 132-138.
