Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ASSESSMENT OF HORSE SHOES LAKE (OXBOW)CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT OF RANTAU BARU VILLAGE,PELALAWAN REGENCY, INDONESIA

RasoelHamidy, Musrifin and Mulyadi

Abstract

The damage to oxbow lakes in various places in Indonesia has not been managed properly, soit is fearedthat its existence will disappear. Whereas the function of the Oxbow Lake, among others, is asa provider ofwater and fishery resources. Realizing the importance of the oxbow lake, this study was conducted on twolakes in Rantau Baru, Pelalawan Regency based on the land cover method and the Water Quality Index(WQI) calculation method. Water samples were taken at three points from the two observed lakes. WQI iscalculated based on ten parameters, namely pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), Depth, TotalPhosphate, Ortho-phosphate, Total Nitrogen, Nitrate as N (NO3), Nitrite as N (NO2), Ammonia as N (NH3). The results showed that the lake Sepunjung half of its water body iscovered with water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes) and the WQI value is classified as good. TelukBederas lake on the outskirts of thelake contains oil palm and plantations and from the WQI value it can be concluded that it is in poor condition.