Carbon content and absorption capacity of several species of seagrass in the coastal waters of small islands in North Maluku, Indonesia
Najamuddin*, Alviansyah, Yunita Ramili, Rustam E. Paembonan, Irmalita Tahir, Nebuchadnessar Akbar, Firdaut Ismail

Marine Science Study Program, Universitas Khairun

Abstract

Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere, oceans and land due to increased emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2, CH4, NOx, SO2, CFCs, SF6, HFCs and PFCs. Seagrass meadows are one of the ecosystems in coastal areas that have the ability to absorb CO2 gas from the atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to analyze the biomass content, carbon content, and CO2 absorption capacity of seagrass species Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, and Cymodeceae rotundata in the coastal areas of small islands in North Maluku Province. Sampling was carried out on two small islands, namely Ternate and Maitara Island with 2 observation points respectively. The results showed that the highest seagrass biomass, carbon content, and absorption capacity of seagrass to CO2 were found in the seagrass type Enhalus acoroides and the lowest type was Cymodoceae rotundata. The highest biomass, carbon content, and absorption capacity of seagrass were obtained on Maitara Island, Pasimayou Village with values of 3943.52 g/m2, 1853.46 g/m2, 6802.13 g/m2, respectively, and the lowest was on Ternate Island, Muhajirin Village, with values of 1053.32 g/m2, 495.05 g/m2, 1816.88 g/m2 respectively. The average carbon content of seagrass on Ternate Island was 789,875 gC/m2 and 1409.15 gC/m2 on Maitara Island. The results of the regression analysis showed that seagrass biomass, seagrass leaf length, and seagrass leaf width had a significant effect on the carbon content of seagrass in the study site.

Keywords: blue carbon, seagrass, small islands, Ternate and Maitara, North Maluku

Topic: Natural Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation