MANGROVE DENSITY AND REMOTE SENSING-BASED ABOVE-GROUND CARBON STOCK ESTIMATION IN SEGARA ANAKAN, CILACAP, CENTRAL JAVA

Abstract

The Segara Anakan mangrove ecosystem in Cilacap, Central Java, is one of the largest mangrove areas on Java Island and plays vital ecological, economic, and climate-related roles. This study aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of mangrove vegetation density and estimate the potential above-ground carbon  stock (AGC) of the ecosystem using remote sensing technology. Sentinel-2A satellite imagery was processed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to classify mangrove density while above-ground biomass (AGB) data obtained from the Global Mangrove Watch database were converted into AGC using an IPCC carbon conversion factor of 0.47. The results showed that the total mangrove ecosystem covered 7,516 ha, with dense mangroves representing the dominant class, primarily distributed in the central and inner parts of the lagoon. The estimated mean AGC was 119.85 tons ha⁻¹, resulting in a projected total AGC of 900,792.6 tons. These findings indicate that the Segara Anakan mangrove ecosystem has a substantial capacity for carbon sequestration and storage at the regional scale. However, anthropogenic pressures, including land use conversion and high sedimentation dynamics, pose significant threats that should be addressed through sustainable conservation and spatially informed management strategies.