Physical properties of five species of twigs from mangrove forest

Abstract

The physical characteristics of the twigs of five different species of mangrove, including moisture content (MC), density, and specific gravity, have been studied. Using gravimetric analysis, the procedures were measured in accordance with ASTM D4442 and D2395, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the statistical analysis, using complete random design with two factors, namely 1) presence of bark (with and without bark) and 2) species of the mangroves, consisted of Buta-buta (Excoeceria agallocha), Api-api (Avicenia marina), Bakau hitam (Rhizopora mucronata), Bakau minyak (Rhizopora apiculata), dan Mata buaya (Bruguera sexangula). Additionally, the Duncan Multiple Range Test was used to assess how the samples differed from one another. Results of this study revealed that twigs have had higher MC with presence of bark and the value showed up to 86%. Density of the samples showed a same tendency with the specific gravity however the measurement values were higher than those of the literatures presumably because of the presence of water, bark, and the irregular form of the twigs. From this point, utilization of the twigs was still limited because of the variation of the properties.