Analysis of Organic Matter Content in Water and Sediment in The Coastal Waters of Bengkalis Island, Riau Province

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities in the coastal waters of Bengkalis Island, Riau Province are thought to have increased due to human activities (settlements, ports, agriculture, households and industry). This caused an increase in organic matter in water and sediment in coastal waters. The content of organic matter in water and sediment can be used as an indicator of the quality of coastal waters. The research aimed to analyze the content of organic matter in water and sediment in the coastal waters of Bengkalis Island. The used purposive sampling. The research was carried out in April – July 2021, consisting of 4 research stations and each station consisted of 3 sampling points. Sampling was carried out in the intertidal zone in the north and south of Bengkalis Island, namely station I (Air Putih Village), Station II (Jangkang Village), station III (Selat Baru Village) and station IV (Liong Estuary). The results of the analysis of organic matter content in seawater ranged from 32.39-34.89 mg/l, the highest was at station I and the lowest was at station II. The results of the analysis of organic matter content in sediment of Bengkalis Island ranged from 0.01-0.31%, the highest was at station I and the lowest was at station II. A simple linear regression test showed that the relationship between the organic matter content of seawater and sediments in the coastal waters of Bengkalis Island was classified as a strong relationship with a correlation coefficient (r) 0.720 and a coefficient of determination (R2) 0.518. The results also show that the coastal waters of Bengkalis Island have a type of sediment fraction which is dominated by sandy mud.