Zainul Hidayah, D.M. Rosyid and H.D. Armono
Abstract
Mangrove forests are one of the coastal ecosystems that have significant ecological, economical value and act as natural barrier against coastal erosion. However, the increase of human population and the need to expand settlements and industrial areas makes mangrove ecosystems vulnerable. Objectives of this research are: firstly to measure the change of mangroves area on southern part of Madura Island using satellite imagery data from different period, secondly to classify the area based on their vegetation density and finally to model the statistical relationship between pixel value which is calculated using the NDVI algorithm and the actual vegetation density. Results of a series Land sat data analysis showed that mangroves area of Southern Madura has been declined intensively. Illegal logging and land use changing were found to be the main cause of the destruction of mangrove forest in this area. In order to prevent the further destruction of mangrove ecosystem, cooperation between government and most importantly local people is a must.