Abdullah, Ramdzani

Arshad, A.

Ibrahim, Z. Z.

Low, Soo Moi

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

UPM Research Report 1998: Volume 2CLASSIFICATION OF MALAYSIAN ESTUARIES FORMANAGEMENT GUIDELINESZ.Z. Ibrahim, Low Soo'Moi, Ramdzani Abdullah andA. ArshadFaculty of Science and Environmental StudiesUniversiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor,MalaysiaKeywords: estuaries, coastal resources, classification,management, guidelines.IntroductionThe primary problem related to estuary management in Ma-laysia is that there is no recognition of the estuary regime;there is only recognition of the riverine or marine regime.This leads to misunderstanding of the physical, chemical andbiological processes occurring in the estuary (Dyer, 1973).The objective of the study is to propose a simple method forthe general classification of estuaries in Peninsular Malaysiathat incorporate not only physical factors but also chemical,biological and socioeconomic factors. The purpose of thisclassification is to provide information on the status of Ma-laysian estuaries, which can aid management, conservationand development planning.Materials and MethodsPhysical, chemical, biological and socioeconomic data fromten estuaries in Peninsular Malaysia were used for classifica-tion. The classification of the physical condition of the estu-ary was based solely on the 'representative' vertical salinitygradient at spring and neap tides. For chemical status theestuarine water quality index (EWQI) for each estuary is cal- .culated. The Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index (SWDI) isused to determine the biological status. An 'Estuarine Re-sources Importance Index' (ERII) was calculated to deter-mine the socioeconomic status of the estuarines. The overall356estuary qualitymay be obtained by combining the above in-dex values (Ott, 1978).Results and DiscussionThe estuaries may be divided into three regional groupsbased on their coastal location, i.e. the northern region group(Group 1), the central region group (Group 2) and the easternregion (Group 3). The grouping also relates to variations inthe EQWI, SWDI, ERII and also reflect variations in stratifi-cation. Group 1 estuaries are well mixed, have moderate togood water quality, moderate to high benthic faunal diver-sity, and high importance of estuary resource. Group 2 estu-aries alternate between partially mixed to highly stratifiedconditions, have very poor to good water quality, moderateto high benthic faunal diversity and have very high impor-tance of estuary resource. From the data for the differentfactors, there appears to be no direct relationship betweenstratification and EWQI, or with SWDI, or with ERII. How-ever, estuaries with partially mixed conditions, such as thosein Group 2, are associated with greater variations in EWQI,SWDI and ERII than are estuaries with well mixed or highlystratified condition.ConclusionsDue to the diverse nature and use of the estuaries sampled,only three classes are identified at present indicating the po-tential use of natural resources, i.e. low, moderate and highestuary quality. Using the classification method proposed,representative estuaries may be selected for future detailedinvestigation and the results used as the basis for the man-agement of other estuaries.ReferencesDyer, K.R. 1973. Estuaries, A. Physical Introduction, London: JohnWiley & Sons.Ott, W.R. 1978. Environmental Indices, Theory and Practice, AnnArbor: Ann Arbor Science.Supported by IRPA Grant 07-02-04-0016

Classification of Malaysian estuaries for management guidelines

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Classification of Malaysian estuaries for management guidelines

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