Community structure at two compartments of a disturbed mangrove forests at Pulau Langkawi

A study on floristic composition and estimation of above ground biomass of trees was carried out in two areas of disturbed mangroves at Kisap Forest Reserve, Pulau Langkawi. Two compartments that were selected was based on the different types of disturbances, i.e. compartment 5 (C5) was disrupted by human harvesting activities of mangrove trees for charcoal production, while compartment 7 (C7) was naturally disturbed from lightning strikes. In C5, a total of 1,217 trees measuring 1 cm DBH and above were enumerated in the plots of 0.25 ha which included 7 species and 5 genera in 3 families, i.e. Rhizophoraceae, Meliaceae and Avicenniaceae. In C7, a total of 390 individual trees of 8 species, 5 genera and 3 families were recorded. The three families recorded in C7 were also common in C5. Rhizophoraceae was recorded as the family with highest density in both compartments. Ceriops tagal had the highest density in C5, while Rhizophora apiculata was the most prominent species in the C7. Total basal area that re...