Anthropogenic implications for land cover changes and vegetation structure in coastal protected forest

Abstract

Abstract. Eddy S, Dahlianah I, Mashito C, Oktavia M, Utomo B. 2022. Anthropogenic implications for land cover changes and vegetation structure in coastal protected forest. Biodiversitas 23: 4473-4481. Anthropogenic activities in coastal areas have largely eliminated mangrove forest cover, including the Air Telang Protected Forest (ATPF). This study aims to analyze land cover changes in 2021 and the vegetation structure in ATPF which covers an area of ??approximately 12,660.87 ha. The method used in this study is a survey method with two stages of data collection, namely the collection of image data and vegetation data. Image data for 2021 was obtained from Landsat 8 Oli, while vegetation data were collected through the identification of plant species and quantitative analysis through the calculation of the Important Value Index (IVI) and the Shannon Diversity Index (H?). The results of this study show that there has been deforestation in ATPF by 66.4% until 2021 due to land conversion into coconut plantations, oil palm plantations and open areas. The number of plant species obtained was 20 species consisting of seven true mangrove species and 13 associated mangrove species. The diversity index ranges from 0.00 to 0.62 which is included in the low category.

Loss of carbon stock as an impact of anthropogenic activities in a protected mangrove forest

“…Other land cover types were not defined because they were static, relatively smaller and harder to detect, such as ponds and settlements. Primary and secondary mangrove forests were dominated by true mangrove plants, while open areas were dominated by shrubs (Eddy et al 2017(Eddy et al , 2022. The dominant plantations consisted of coconut plantations and oil palm plantations.…”

“…Unfortunately, it has been experiencing considerable degradation and consistent decline in its mangrove forest area over the years. Most of the ATPF has been converted into coconut plantations, oil palm plantations, ponds, and ports (Eddy et al 2017(Eddy et al , 2021a(Eddy et al , 2022. Despite this, the vegetation in this area is still predominantly composed of true mangrove plants, specifically N. fruticans, Rhizophora apiculata Blume, and Acrostichum aureum L. (Eddy et al 2019(Eddy et al , 2022.…”

“…Conversions of forest areas into agricultural land and plantations in the ATPF took two forms: planted agricultural areas and open areas (not yet planted). According to Eddy et al (2022), as of 2021, only 14.5% of the ATPF's plantation land was planted with coconut and oil palm, while nearly 50% of the total ATPF area was categorized as open areas.…”

“…The prevalence of open areas is primarily a result of anthropogenic activities, specifically the community's efforts to clear land for plantations and agriculture (Eddy et al 2021b). Indeed, mangrove degradation worldwide is predominantly caused by anthropogenic activities (Eddy et al 2019;Sannigrahi et al 2020;Eddy et al 2021aEddy et al , 2022. Additionally, the construction of a passenger and cargo port at Tanjung Api-Api, initiated in 2004 and operational since 2018, enhances community access to the ATPF area.…”

“…Air Telang Protected Forest (ATPF) in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia, spans approximately 12,660.87 ha of mangrove forests. Unfortunately, degradation caused by anthropogenic activities such as development of coconut and oil palm plantations, pond constructions, agricultural practices, and infrastructure constructions has significantly reduced the forest's species diversity and coverage (Eddy et al 2017(Eddy et al , 2019(Eddy et al , 2021a(Eddy et al ,c, 2022. Presently, only 26% of the ATPF consists of primary mangrove forests.…”