Aboveground biomass and carbon density of Mangrove forest in Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan.

Mangroves are small trees that grow in coastal saline which are found in the tropical and subtropical tidal areas. The study area is the mangrove forest in Pengkalan Kubur located in the district of Tumpat, Kelantan. A good management practices through this study helps to face the constraints in the mangrove forest of Pengkalan Kubur, which are lack of laws and regulations, financial barriers and lack of awareness from the community living nearby. Besides, there is also no estimation of aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon density value in this area. This study was conducted to determine the aboveground biomass of the mangrove trees in Pengkalan Kubur and to estimate the carbon density of the mangrove forest in the study area. All the trees with diameter at breast height more than 5 cm were measured. Hypsometer was used to get the tree height measurement. Allometric relationship used for estimating AGB was based on the canopy diameter (CD) and tree height (H). The total aboveground biomass for the ten plots from A to J was 791.52 kg and the total aboveground biomass per hectare was 1583.04 kg/ha. Meanwhile, the total carbon density for the ten plots was 395.76 kgC and the total carbon density per hectare was 791.52 kgC/ha. Based on the results, the highest aboveground biomass was from the plot E, due to the higher presence of the trees with large diameter at breast height of more than 16-21 cm diameter with proportions of 66%. The study showed that the mangrove forest was being degraded because of the anthropogenic activities and the environmental sustainability was not being practised in the study area. Hence, it is hoped that the future study will find an effective way to improve the environmental sustainability by having a good management practices.