merged

Determination of Carbon and Nitrogen Content in Decomposition of
Mangrove Litter Using CHNS Analyser
Deevanesh A/L Gengatharan
Shaarany A/P Kunasegran
Supervisor: Dr. Poh Seng Chee
Bachelor of Science (Analytical and Environmental Chemistry)
School of Marine and Environmental Sciences
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Mangrove is an essential coastal ecosystem that provides nutrients to estuarine and
its surrounding environments through its litter decomposition. Three mangrove
species, which are Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera Cylindrica, and Ceriops Zippeliana
were studied for the abundance of carbon and nitrogen content using a litter bag
method to evaluate the relationship between decomposition rate, carbon and nitrogen
content. Decomposition rate was recorded by its percentage of weight loss against
time. Interpretation using Pearson correlation between carbon content and k value is
-0.66788 with p value of 0.035 for Bruguiera Cylindrica. For Rhizophora apiculata, the
relation between nitrogen content and k value is -0.71657 with p value of 0.020.
Relation between C:N ratio and k value shows a positive relation, 0.64520 with p value
of 0.044 for Ceriops Zippeliana .This experiment implies that degradation rate is
species specific and depends on the initial chemical composition of leaves, particularly
the carbon, nitrogen, lignin content and other minerals.
1995 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018