Species Composition and Carbon Stock of Rehabilitated Mangrove Forest in Kupang District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Abstract

Since 1994, the community around the mangrove forest in Kupang district, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, has rehabilitated the mangrove forest. Unfortunately, almost three decades of the success story of mangrove rehabilitation has not followed appropriate documentation on biodiversity and potential carbon stock. This research aimed to describe the species composition and estimate the carbon stock of rehabilitated mangrove forests. Forty-five sampling plots were distributed using purposive sampling based on mangrove zonation (distal, middle, proximal) and year of rehabilitation (2004, 2006, 2008). The findings revealed that there are ten mangrove species. Two species, namely Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba, showed a high importance value index. The average aboveground carbon stock was 454.712 t/ha, distributed in seedlings, saplings, poles, and trees at 0.04%, 2.41%, 51.61%, and 45.94%, respectively. Mangrove rehabilitation in Kupang district, East Nusa Tenggara Province, has successfully increased the richness, heterogeneity, and carbon stock.