Mangrove Root Diversity and Structure (cone, pencil, prop) Effectiveness in Accumulating Cu and Zn in Sediments and Water in River Blanakan

The effectiveness of metal accumulation in mangrove species is related to the root structure and diversity. This study aims to investigate the type of roots belong to Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata, and Sonneratia caseolaris in accumulating Cu and Zn from sediment and water. The samples consist of roots, water and sediment collected from 9 stations in River Blanakan. The heavy metals in samples were analyzed by using AAS. The Zn in A. marina, R. mucronata and S. caseolaris roots were 18.08-54.64 mg/kg, 9.75-54.75 mg/kg, and 19.58-33.33 mg/kg. While, the Cu in A. marina, R. mucronata and S. caseolaris roots were 0.33-0.89 mg/kg, 0.2-54.75 mg/kg and 0.4-0.99 mg/kg. The effectiveness of mangrove roots in accumulating metals is measured by Transfer Factor (TF). The results of this study showed that R. mucronata has the highest TF. The TF of sediment-to-root for Zn in mangrove species is R. mucronata>S. caseolaris>A. marina. While, the TF of sediment-to-root for Cu is R. mucronata>S. caseolaris=A. marina. The TF ranges of R. mucronata for Zn are 0.30-0.38 and for Cu is 0.36-0.46. Hence, the R. mucronata with its unique prop root has significant potential in accumulating metals Cu and Zn from sediment.