GIS-based assessment of mangrove response to shoreline change along the coast of Kukup Island, Johor

Abstract

Shoreline and mangrove form a dynamic ecosystem to coastal area. They support and supply various foods and protections for the purpose of environmental friendly and biological balancing around the world. A dynamic phenomenon like shoreline requires the presence of spatial and temporal data to represent and visualize the object’s shape and their positions over time. This study is significant to provide a first view of the interaction and response of mangrove species to shoreline change. It utilized the use of multi-sources spatial data to provide shoreline positions between 1997 and 2011. GIS technology along with remote sensing has been proved to be a potential approach to integrate multi-sources spatial data thus enables the derivation of multi-dated shoreline positions. Statistical computation using Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was applied to determine the rate of shoreline change along the Coast of Kukup Island. Findings show that the shoreline along the northwest of island appeared to move backward with the rates of shoreline erosion varied between 5.45 m/yr and 9.33 m/yr. However, accretion activities occurred along the northern and eastern areas of island ranged between 0.05 m/yr and 4.58 m/yr. Mangrove profile study revealed that Rhizophora apiculata was the dominant species inhabit along the shoreline of Kukup Island. Comparison of Rhizophora apiculata physical characteristic and shoreline change rates demonstrated a significant correlation, suggesting that the maturity of mangrove trees found in the area help to reduce the erosion effects. The species that equipped with various advantages enable this mangrove to survive the harsh conditions that come from the ocean and terrestrial. Therefore, the integration of GIS, remote sensing, and statistical method has efficiently improved the analysis of shoreline change and mangrove response due to its cost effectiveness and data maintenance.