STRUCTURE OF MANGROVE VEGETATION IN PANGKAL BABU VILLAGE, TUNGKAL ILIR, TANJUNG JABUNG BARAT

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystems play an important role in coastal and marine management. Coastal areas with large river estuaries whose water flows contain a lot of substrate for growth can be optimally covered by mangroves. This study aims to determine the structure of mangrove vegetation density in Pangkal Babu Village. This research was conducted from December 2024 to January 2025 using the Transect Line Plot method with a purposive sampling approach at three observation stations. Each transect consisted of three plot sizes (10×10 m, 5×5 m, and 1×1 m) used to observe the growth rate of trees, seedlings, and saplings. The data included species identification, number of individuals, species density, relative density, species frequency, relative frequency, species cover, and importance value index (IVI). Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to describe the condition of the mangrove community structure at each station. The results showed that there were nine mangrove species found at the three stations in Pangkal Babu Village, namely Sonneratia alba, Avicennia marina, Avicennia alba, Rhizophora apiculate, Rhizophora mucronate, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Acanthus ilicifolius, and Nypa fruticans. Station 1 had low mangrove density with a total of only 26 individuals/ha, dominated by Sonneratia alba with a density of 416.67 ind/ha and the highest INP of 280.04%. Meanwhile, Station 2 showed.