Classification of mangrove species based on leaf fractal dimensions

Abstract

The study utilized the fractal dimensions of the leaves of mangrove species locally found in the City of Tangub to determine if the same can be used for classification purposes. The species used were: Rhizophora mucronata, Avicennia marina, Pemphis acidula, Sonneratia alba and Acrostichum aureum. Findings revealed that fractal dimensions can be used to differentiate one mangrove species from another through their leaf roughness (f =14.400, p = 0.000). However, leaf fractal dimensions alone cannot differentiate the following mangrove species within groups: {Rhizopora mucronata and Avicennia marina}, {Acrostichum aureum and Pemphis acidula}, {Sonneratia alba}. In effect, leaf fractal dimensions identify only the following groupings: {Rhizopora mucronata, Avicennia marina}, {Acrostichum aureum, Pemphis acidula} and {Sonneratia alba}. The results may be due to the small sample sizes used for some of the mangrove species. In particular, the standard deviations of the fractal dimensions of the Sonneratia alba and Avicennia marina may have been over-estimated because of the small sample sizes. The empirical probability of misclassification using the technique is approximately 4.5%.