The importance of remnant vegetation coverage along riverbank in supporting urban river naturalization in Bogor City, Indonesia

Abstract

Human disturbances in urban river landscape and its riverbank cannot be avoided. The construction of buildings and other infrastructure are among the human disturbances which cause a serious decline in urban riverbank quality so that influencing the stability of its landscape ecological cycle. Exploration of vegetated urban riverbank in Indonesia, especially in Bogor City is very important to save its existence in supporting the naturalization of the Ciliwung River. This study aims to estimate the remnant vegetated urban riverbank along the Ciliwung River and estimate the value of landscape/ecosystem services along the riverbank in the Bogor City. This research was carried out by taking four sample locations of the 250 meters and 15 meters wide at the right and the left of the riverbank using aerial photography and processed with ArcGIS software. Then, the land cover delineation and ecosystem services of the four sample locations are estimated by random point sampling method as many as 500 points for each sample location using i-Tree Assessment. The results of this study indicated that vegetation cover along the riverbank in Bogor City is 62% or 300,443 m2 ± 1733.96 m2. The advantages of landscape service for tree vegetation along the Ciliwung riverbank in Bogor City, converted into economic value, is equal to IDR 178,272,333. The landscape ecological function of riparian vegetation has a large role in absorbing pollutant gases in cities, storing carbon in biomass and dust absorption as much as converted into these economic values. Protection and conservation of the remnant vegetated urban riverbank needs to be conducted with various stakeholders so that the value of landscape services can be increased optimally in achieving success of river naturalization for sustainable urban water system in Bogor City.