Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background and Rationale

Mangroves are vital to both the people and the coastal ecosystem. In addition to
protecting ecosystems from human activity, identifying mangrove plant species is
essential for projects including biodiversity evaluation, restoration, or conservation.
However, extensive data are still being manually acquired in order to manage coastal
habitats effectively. In addition, the scientific jargon used in traditional keys makes
mangrove species identification difficult, time-consuming, and infuriating for non-experts.
Developing a mangrove plant identifier is particularly crucial for the City
Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Borongan City, Eastern Samar,
due to the city's rich mangrove ecosystems and their significance to local biodiversity
and community livelihoods. With Borongan City's coastal location and dependence on
mangroves for various ecosystem services such as coastal protection, fisheries support,
and carbon sequestration, an identifier would be indispensable for effective management
and conservation efforts. It would enable CENRO to accurately assess mangrove
species of Borongan's mangrove ecosystems. Furthermore, such a tool would empower
local stakeholders, including community members and resource managers, to actively
engage in mangrove conservation initiatives, fostering a sense of ownership and
stewardship over these vital coastal habitats.
The goal of our project is to develop an automated method for classifying the
species from photos of mangrove plant, in response to the increasing demand for rapid
and economical mangrove identification. Recent developments in deep learning
algorithms have led to studies showing superior performance on plant species
identification tests.
The process of converting a picture into a digital format and carrying out specific
procedures in order to extract some valuable information is known as image processing.
All images are typically treated as 2D signals by the image processing system when
specific preset signal processing techniques are used.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

1
 The 2 commonly used machine learning model for plant identification are
Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN).
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are deep learning models tailored for
image processing and classification, consisting of layers that learn spatial hierarchies of
features from images. Key components include convolutional layers for feature
extraction, pooling layers for dimensionality reduction, and fully connected layers for
classification. CNNs excel in computer vision tasks due to their ability to capture
complex image patterns.
K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) is a simple, non-parametric algorithm used for
classification and regression. In image classification, KNN classifies an input image by
comparing it to all training images and identifying the 'k' closest ones based on a
distance metric like Euclidean distance. KNN is easy to implement but can be
computationally intensive and sensitive to the choice of 'k' and distance metric, making it
less suitable for large, high-dimensional datasets without preprocessing.
According to the Field Guide to Philippines Beach Forest Species by Primavera
and Montilijao (2017), there are total of 33 mangrove species, and the species that are
present in most provinces are Avicennia marina, Nypa fruticans, Rhizophora apiculata,
R. mucronata, R. stylosa and Sonneratia alba. Species that are less common across the
region are Acanthus sp., Acrostichum aureum, Avicennia alba, Bruguiera parviflora,
Osbornia octodonta, Pemphis acidula and Sonneratia ovata.
In addition, there are 8 species present in Eastern Samar namely: Rhizophora
apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia alba, Xylocarpus granatum, Scyphiphora
hydrophyllacea, Nypa fruticans, Ceriops species, and Brugeriera species (International
Journal of Current Research, 2016). Their study showed the total number of mangrove
species in the Philippines and especially the species present in Eastern Samar.
According to Aguirre (2020), the regenerated mangrove forest is also credited
with shielding nearby villages from the worst of the impacts of Typhoon Fengshen in
2008 and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, both of which battered other parts of Aklan province.
The Kalibo project also stands as a bright spot in a country working to restore its
mangroves. From an estimated 500,000 hectares (1.24 million acres) in 1918, the
country’s mangrove cover dwindled to 120,000 hectares (297,000 acres) in 1994. After

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

2
various reforestation and conservation efforts, the Philippines now has around 250,000
hectares (618,000 acres) of mangroves.

In 2015, the most recent year for which official data are available, the Philippines
had 7 million hectares (17.33 million acres) of forest cover, of which 303,373 hectares.
(749,651 acres) or 4.3% were mangrove forests (Fabro, 2022).
It is necessary to educate people about the value of mangroves. Research
indicates that mangroves shield our shorelines from destructive storms, winds, waves,
and floods. It traps sediments from the land and filters pollutants to help maintain the
clarity and quality of the water. Many organizations have started planting mangroves
because of the numerous ways that mangroves benefit and protect coastal areas.
However, the planting initiative did not produce positive results because of ignorance
about mangrove species. A greater understanding of mangrove species is what people
require.
The purpose of this study is to help the City Environment and Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) in Borongan City, Eastern in determining what kind of species of a
mangrove plant based on the data they have given. This will help the office to have an
innovative way of checking mangrove plants.

Objectives of the study

This study aims to develop a mangrove identifier mobile application for the City
Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Borongan City, Eastern Samar
that identifies and is able to differentiate mangrove species. Specifically, this study
aimed to:
1. Create a mangrove plant identifier mobile application.
2. Design an application by using Convolutional Neutral Network model with an
accuracy rate of 98.5%.
3. Evaluate the overall usability of the developed system using a questionnaire
based on the ISO 9126 Quality Standard in Alpha test and the IBM Software
Usability Satisfaction Tool for Beta test.

Scope & Limitations

This study will focus on the following:

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

3
 1. The application is not functional if the mangrove plant is dead,
2. The application is not functional if the plant is not a mangrove plant.

3. Upon designing will be limited using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs)

and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN).
4. Upon creating the machine learning model for mangrove plant identifier the
researchers will provide 500 image per mangrove species for higher
accuracy.
5. Limited on identifying endemic mangrove species in Borongan, Eastern
Samar.
6. The endemic mangrove species data is given by City Environment and
Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Borongan City which is the following;
Local Name Scientific Name
Bakawan Rhizophora apiculata
Pototan Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
Miyapi Avicennia officinalis Linn.
Pagatpat Sonneratia acida L.f.

Significance of the Study

This will help the City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of
LGU- Borongan City, Eastern Samar in identifying mangrove species. The proposed
application aims to benefit the mangrove nursery workers and field workers of CENRO
by having an identifier and guide on the mangrove species mobile app that is based on
the local data of mangrove species.

City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO)

The study will make it less hassle to identify and have a guide for mangroves for
the City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO). The identifier will ease
up the analysis of a mangrove species. The use of this current technology will give a
new operation that will ease up on identifying and guide about mangrove species.

Community
The community will benefit because they can easily get the identification of a
mangrove plant in regard to CENRO’s fieldwork.
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

4
Researchers
The researchers will benefit from the study for they will be allowed to learn
something new, enhance work performance, and new skill sets regarding the making of
scanner/identifier and catalogs of mangrove species on the mobile application.

Future Researchers
The study will be helpful to future researchers who would like to develop or
improve similar mobile apps such as this study.

Definition of Terms

The researchers of the study used the following terms in conducting the
proposed study entitled MobileMangrove: A Comprehensive Mangrove Species Field
Guide with the definitions according to their usage.

City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) - the Borongan City local
government organization responsible for overseeing the preservation, administration,
and advancement of the city's natural resources and environment.

Current Process - the personnel currently use a manual approach to identify the
mangrove plants.

Image Processing - the procedure that MobileMangrove will carry out.

Mangrove Ecosystem - This environment where mangrove dwell and interact.

Mangrove Nursery Workers - the personnel who are working on CENRO who are
assigned to mangrove nursery.

Mangrove Plant - the primary subject that the mobile application is supposed to test is
the mangrove plant.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

5
MobileMangrove – the researcher will create a mobile mangrove species field guide
using a smartphone application called MobileMangrove.

Species Field Guide – the guide for determining the species of a mangrove plant.

Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED SYSTEMS

This chapter presents the review of related literature and review of related
systems after thorough and in-depth research done by the researchers while also
focusing on Mangrove Species Field Guide. In order to create, the researchers need to
find some helpful resources regarding Mangrove Species Field Guide.
Mangrove habitats, which offer a variety of advantages to nearby populations,
are prone to both natural and man-made hazards (Quevedo et. al., 2019).
Correspondingly maintaining the stems of tropical vegetation biomes while
accurately identifying the individual plant species that make them up. In order to protect
the ecosystem from unsustainable human activities, efforts aimed at restoring or
conserving biodiversity in Asia depend heavily on the identification of mangrove plant
species. However, the rigor that comes with botanical expertise is still lacking and not
fully taken into account for non-botanists, such as scientists, local populations, and
stakeholders involved in the management of coastal zones (Carley et. al. 2019).
While some content has been provided, it is not fascinating enough to capture
people's entire attention, or it may not correspond with their behaviors, resulting in
continuing improper use of mangrove forests. The effects are not confined to local
communities and societies, but also directly affect the country's economy, and the
restoration of mangrove forest is becoming more difficult. Learning resources are crucial
in environmental education because they help to make learners understand the
problems and preservation methods appropriate for their local environment. This can
help to promote long-term development. Learners can be encouraged to comprehend
and accept the significance of mangrove forests by employing well-designed learning
tools, which can also serve as a source of useful knowledge about mangrove forest
management and preservation. Furthermore, it is reasonable to expect that learners
using such resources will not only be able to expand their own knowledge by seeking
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

6
more relevant information on the issues involved, but will also be able to contribute
creatively to the learning media. It has been noted that technological advances,
particularly mobile devices, are highly influential in the new generation's way of life and
the way that younger people live, work, and learn. (Chai-Arayalert et. al. 2020).

The concept of giving information about the mangrove ecosystem is still in its
early stages, with only a few existing systems. The mangrove habitat includes diverse
plants and wildlife, as well as limestone karst landscape formations. Each of these
entities has its own information, such as a common name, species name, family, habitat,
and others (Alam Shah et al 2018).
Following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan),
we recognized the need to develop a tool that can be used by civil society organizations,
including the academe and people’s organizations; and local government units in order
to determine the effects of natural calamities in mangrove and beach forest ecosystems.
Doing so provides a concrete basis for developing area- and needs-specific plans for
coastal forest and community rehabilitation. Although still a work in progress, the current
version is already being used by communities affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda
particularly in the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Iloilo and Capiz. We continue to seek
feedback on how we can further enhance the tools and processes. This training manual
is for all those who continue to work to rehabilitate their forests and communities.
(Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. - PTFCF, 2014).
On the other hand, a focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted among
concerned participants from Barangay Council, fishermen and local residents to
determine the mangrove ecosystem services and management practices. Results of the
study showed that there were 7 species of mangroves belonging to 5 families identified
along the riverbanks; Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera cylindrica,
Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia alba, Lumnitzera racemosa and Excoecaria agallocha.
R. apiculata registered the highest mean density with 0.184 stands per 100 m2 while
Lumnitzera racemosa gained the lowest with 0.002 stands per 100 m2. The mangroves
provide the basic ecosystem services from provisioning, regulating, supporting and
cultural. Key management measures employed ranged from planting seedlings,
prohibiting cutting of mangroves and avoiding dumping of wastes (Rosario et.al., 2021).

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

7
 Additionally, for the knowledge and understanding will spread outwards from the
schools into the rest of the community, through the Busuanga Coastal Forest Project
funded by Forest Foundation Philippines, Community Centered Conservation Philippines
and Salvacion National High School Teachers have developed this Manual as a tool to
aid teachers and students about the importance of mangrove forests.

Furthermore, students will learn about the mangrove and beach forest ecosystems
within their locality, which includes general information of the environment. The scientific
concepts and field learning activities included in the manual can also help students to
further understand and appreciate the value of these ecosystems (Nadado et.at.,2021).
Correspondingly, a study has been conducted on an effective management
strategy for protecting mangrove forests and ensuring their continued provision of
ecosystem services especially to the local communities that depend on them for
livelihood and survival is crucial to sustainable forest management. This study can help
guide decision-making on institutional structures and management strategies for
sustainable mangrove forest management and building resilient coastal communities,
especially in typhoon-prone tropical/sub-tropical regions of the world (Daupan,2016).
Similarly, it was assessed the species composition, structure and diversity of
mangroves in the coastal areas of Mabini, Davao de Oro, Philippines. These results add
to the existing knowledge about mangrove communities in Davao Gulf. More importantly,
they serve as important baseline information relevant to the management, protection,
and conservation of mangroves within the Mabini Protected Landscape and Seascape
(Manual, 2022).
As stated by Manabat and Galicia (2022), Mangrove forests are one of the
world's most prolific forest ecosystems, and they're unusual in that they connect
terrestrial and marine systems via the intertidal zone. Furthermore, playing critical roles
in maintaining the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, mangroves provide a
range of services and functions, including habitat for local fauna and flora, food and
other goods, carbon sequestration, and protection from natural disasters such as storm
surges and coastal erosion (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2023).
Moreover, mangrove tree bark, leaves, fruits, roots, seedlings, and stems are
used to treat various conditions. Some of these conditions include healing wounds,
diarrhea, stomachaches, diabetes, inflammation, skin infections, conjunctivitis (pink eye),

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

8
and toothaches. It can even be used as mosquito repellent (Amy Heemsoth, 2020).
Their study showed how helpful and the benefits of a mangrove plant, and how it can
even cure illness.
Based on the study of helping people by United Nation Global Climate Change
(2023), this mobile application helps them to manage their mangrove plantations and is
considered to be a big step forward in agriculture.

Moreover, the end-users of the system are those organizations or people who
are advocating in planting more mangrove trees. The system will help them to identify
the right mangrove species to be planted under certain conditions (iNetTutor.com, 2021).
Furthermore, accurate identification and monitoring of mangrove species are
crucial for their conservation and management. However, traditional species
identification and documentation methods are often time-consuming, labor-intensive,
and require taxonomic expertise. The preservation of mangroves relies heavily on the
ability to identify different species and monitor their diversity (Viodor et al, 2023). Their
study on developing a mobile application has discovered that traditional way of
identification and documentation of a mangrove plant can cause time-consuming and
other reasons that may be a hindrance of identifying a mangrove plant.
Indeed, mangroves forests provide important protection to communities that are
vulnerable to sea-level rises and severe weather events caused by climate change. The
deep network of tree roots holds the landscape together, and acts as a shield that can
potentially save lives from the extreme weather which has become common because of
climate change (Zoological Society of London, 2024). Their articles explained how
mangroves protect several places against recent typhoons mentioned above and the
data of how the mangrove forest constantly changed from the year since 1918.
Reda et. al. (2022),"AgroAId," a mobile application for visually classifying plant
species and diseases using deep learning techniques to aid novice gardeners. The
system uses various CNN architectures and transfer learning approaches, specifically
experimenting with MobileNet, MobileNetV2, NasNetMobile, and EfficientNetB0. Among
these, EfficientNetB0, fully retrained with optimized hyperparameters, achieved the
highest accuracy of 99% and was integrated into the mobile app in TensorFlow Lite
format. Additionally, AgroAId's backend collects user data to generate spatiotemporal

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

9
analytics on regional and seasonal disease trends, enhancing users' understanding of
global agricultural patterns
Leaf-based Classification of Important Indigenous Tree Species by Different
Feature Extraction Techniques and Selected Classification Algorithms by Mangaoang
and Samaniego(2023). The study utilized multiple machine learning models for
classification, including k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM),
Backpropagation (BP) networks, and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN).

The CNN model was highlighted as the best approach with the highest accuracy
rate of 98.5%, making it superior to the other models used in this context.
Surleen Kaur and Prabhpreet Kaur (2019), employed computer vision and
machine learning techniques to classify plants based on leaf images. The study involved
four main steps: image acquisition, pre-processing, feature extraction, and classification.
They used the Swedish leaf dataset containing 1,125 images from 15 different species.
After pre-processing the images with Gaussian filtering, they extracted texture and color
features. The final classification was performed using a Multiclass Support Vector
Machine (MSVM), achieving an accuracy of approximately 93.26%
Skanda H N, Smitha S Karanth, Suvijith S, Swathi K S, and Pragati P (2019)
reviewed various machine learning algorithms for classifying plants based on their
characteristics. The study involved analyzing different methodologies for plant
identification, including the use of models like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs),
Support Vector Machines (SVMs), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN). These algorithms
were applied to compare certain characteristics of specimen plants to known taxonomic
groups, aiming to improve the accuracy and efficiency of plant identification, which is
crucial for maintaining ecological balance.
Picek et al. (2022) conducted a research study about automatic plant recognition
by AI. They compared the image retrieval method with the standard classifiers based on
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Vision Transformers (ViT), and proposed a
retrieval-based method for recognition. Their proposed model relied on a model trained
via the Recall@k surrogate loss.
Several studies have explored the application of machine learning and computer
vision techniques in plant species classification and disease detection. Reda et al.
(2022) developed AgroAId, a mobile app utilizing deep learning, particularly

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

10
EfficientNetB0, to achieve a 99% accuracy in plant species and disease classification.
This app also collects user data for spatiotemporal analytics on agricultural trends.
Mangaoang and Samaniego (2023) highlighted CNN as the best model for classifying
indigenous tree species, achieving a 98.5% accuracy rate. Skanda H N et al. (2019)
reviewed various ML algorithms for plant identification, focusing on CNNs and KNNs.
Picek et al. (2022) proposed a retrieval-based method for plant recognition using image
retrieval and surrogate loss training.

Chapter III
METHODOLOGY

Software Development Model

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is an organized procedure for

designing, creating, and testing high-quality software. It defines the entire procedure of
software development and aims to meet the user’s requirements.

Figure 1. Spiral Model

The Spiral Model enables researchers to build a customized mobile application.
Spiral methodology passes through four phases repeatedly until the project is finished:
planning, development, analysis, and evaluation. The researchers have chosen to use
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

11
this model to manage the project accurately and determine the amount of steps, hence
the researchers of the project play a vital role in development of the software using the
Spiral model.

Planning
In the planning phase, the project team outlines the objectives and scope of the
Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier Application. They define the features and functionalities
the app should offer, such as plant identification. The researchers also creates a project
plan, setting timelines for development that allocates resources accordingly. Additionally,
they conduct initial research of the most commonly used models of identifying plant with
above accuracy to understand user needs and preferences for mangrove plant
identification.
Analysis
During the analysis phase, the team iteratively identifies and prioritizes potential
risks and challenges associated with developing the Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier
Application. This includes technical risks like compatibility issues and content-related
risks such as inaccuracies in species information. The researchers then develops
strategies to mitigate these risks through a series of iterative cycles, incorporating
thorough testing procedures and partnerships with experts in mangrove ecology as the
project progresses through each spiral iteration.
Development
In the development phase, the team begins building the Mobile Mangrove Plant
Identifier Application based on the project requirements and design specifications. They
design the user interface to be intuitive and easy to navigate, incorporating features such
as photo galleries, search functions, and plant identification. Throughout this phase, they
conduct regular testing to ensure the app functions correctly and meets the needs of its
users.
Evaluation

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

12
 During the evaluation phase, the team reviews the progress made in developing
the Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier and assesses the quality of the app. They solicit
feedback from users, including experts, and educators, to identify any areas for
improvement or additional features. This feedback is used to iteratively refine the app,
addressing any issues or shortcomings identified during testing. The team also conducts
thorough usability testing to ensure the app is accessible and user-friendly for a wide
range of audiences, including those with limited technical expertise. After evaluation, the
process will repeat until it successfully function.

Figure 2. Fishbone diagram

Figure 2 Show the cause and effect of having no mobile mangrove plant identifier
for City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

13
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

14
Technical Feasibility

The software, hardware, and program specifications needed to construct the

system are described in technical feasibility.

Table 1. Hardware Requirement (Development)

Shows the hardware requirement needed in the development of the project.

Hardware System Minimum Requirements

Intel(R) Celeron(R) N4020 CPU @ (1.10GHz, up
LAPTOP
to 1.10 GHz), 8GB RAM, 237 SDD Storage, 64-
bit Operating System

Android Phone Android Version 5.0 Lolipop and above

Table 2. Software Requirement (Development)

Shows the software requirement needed in the development of the project.

Software System Minimum Requirements

Integrated Development Environment Android Studio
Languages and Frameworks Java, Kotlin
Operating System Windows 10 Home Single Language
Android Version Android 11.0

Schedule Feasibility
The evaluation of whether a proposed app project can be completed within a
reasonable and acceptable timeframe. It's about assessing whether the project can meet
its deadlines and milestones without overrunning the expected timeframe.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

15
Figure Definition

Shaded Box - This represent the number of

months for an activity to be done. It shows the
estimated duration for completion.
Unshaded – This task has not yet been
completed.

Figure 3. Gantt chart

Figure 3 depicts the task plan that researchers use to complete the study in the
allocated month based on when it begins and when it should end.
Beginning in March and continuing into December. At the beginning of March,
the researcher began to plan on having the software completed by March. Also, the
analytical phase began in August and continued until the third week of September. The
evaluation began in October, and it finished there.

Output and User Interface

This is where the process of designing the user interface of the project on how
the project’s user interface will look like. Below are the figures showing the planned
design of the user interface of the project.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

16
Output and User Interface

Figure 4. Homepage
Figure 4 show the homepage of the MobileMangrove Application with button to
be click to initiate the mangrove identifier.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

17
 Figure 5. Scanner

Figure 5 shows the scanner page on where you can start identifying a mangrove
plant direct through your camera of select an image to you phone gallery to identify.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

18
 Figure 6. Result
Figure 6 shows the result of the identified mangrove with the image then show it’s Local
name, Scientific name, and Description.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

19
Use Case Diagram

A use case diagram is a graphical depiction of a user's possible interactions with

a system. A use case diagram shows various use cases and different types of users the
system has and will often be accompanied by other types of diagrams as well.

Figure Definition
Use Case Symbol Description
Actor specifies a role played by user or
any other system that interacts with the
subject

Actor
Use case is the list steps typically defining
interactions between an actor and a
system, to achieve a goal.
Use Case
Include relationship could be used to
<<Include>> simplify large use case by splitting it into
several use cases, and to extract
Include common parts of the behaviors of two or
more use case.
Object flow is a path along which objects
or data can pass.

Object Flow
A line that marks the limits of an area; a
dividing line.

System Boundary

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

20
 Figure 7. Use case diagram
This diagram effectively illustrates the functionalities of a mangrove identifier app,
showing the key actions a user can perform and how these actions are related. The
"includes" relationships indicate that certain use cases are part of the process of other
use cases, ensuring a clear understanding of how the app's features are structured and
connected.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

21
System Flowchart

Flow chart describe in detail how a process will be carried out, but during the
development of an information system it is useful to be able to produce a more general
description of how a system will work.
A system flowchart is a physical design tool that shows in general terms that will
be performed on information in an information system.
The arrows on a system flowchart show the direction that data will flow in around
the system rather than the order in which the operations will be carried out.
System flowchart is a way of displaying how data flows in a system and how
decisions are made to control events. System flowchart shows decisions that change the
flow of program logic. System flowcharts use the diamond symbol to represent yes/no
decisions, with a separate line leaving the diamond for each response.

Figure Definitions Description

Symbol
This marks the standing point
of the operations.
Terminal

Specifies processing procedures

that usually involves calculation.
Proces

A point wherein a decision is

to be made a set of instruction
is executed based on the
outcome of a decision.
Decisio
n
This is printed document or
report.

Document

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

22
 An entry or exit one page to
another page of represent the
flowchart

Off page
connector
Continues the flow of on the same
page. Defined with an alpha.

Connect

Shows a list of information with a

standard structure that allows for
searching and arranging.
Databas

Specifying the sequence or order

of instruction.

Flow

This shows that a process is

performed without the use of
computer.
Manual
Process

This indicates either the input or

output.

Input/output
Process

Used to display list of forms.

Displa
y
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

23
 Figure 8. Flowchart
Figure 8 show the whole flow of the application from start to the end process.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

24
Development

The Developers start forming their thoughts into something usable and creating a
Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier Application. This stage saw the beginning of analysis
and planning, the formulation of data flow, and the assembling of comprehensive
functional requirements for the system.

Program Specifications

In addition to describing the input and output that the program will process, this
outlines the precise tasks that must be carried out by the program.

Input Descriptions

The user will be able to scan a mangrove plant.

Program Descriptions

The Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier Application on an Android smartphone

which is able to automatically capture images to identify and classify the types of a
mangrove plant. Through the implementation of TensorFlow Machine Learning
Language embed to the android studio for the mangrove scanner.

Programming Environment

Java

Java is a widely-used programming language for coding web applications. It has

been a popular choice among developers for over two decades, with millions of Java
applications in use today. Java is a multi-platform, object-oriented, and network-centric
language that can be used as a platform in itself.

Kotlin

Kotlin is a programming language that makes coding concise, cross-platform,

and fun. It is Google’s preferred language for Android app development.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

25
Implementation

During the deployment of the application using an Android device, the Android
package of the mobile application is installed so that users may access the application.
To help users through every stage of the application's workflow, a simple guide was
given during beta testing.

Software Evaluation
This part discussed how the system demonstrated, tested and evaluated by the
experts and the regular users.

Research Design
This study entitled “Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier Application” was subjected
to an expert evaluation testing. Hence, the research design used was developmental-
evaluative design to test the developed system.

Respondents of the Study

Questionnaires were distributed to City Environmental and Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) and to the faculty of College of Computer Studies.

Instrumentation
The system was evaluated using the software Quality Evaluation Tool based on
IBM Computer System Usability for Alpha test and ISO 9126 for Quality Metrics for Beta
test. It is consisting of questions that measure the user satisfaction with system usability.

Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics using the mean, frequency and percentage were employed
to present the level of the system effectiveness.
Data Design
This section is about discovering and completely defining the system’s data
characteristics and processes.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

26
Figure Definition

Symbol Description

It can be object, place, person or

class. Data are stored about such
entities.

Entit
y To one relationship (exactly one)
One to one

To many relationship (one to

many)
One to many

To zero or more relationship (can

be zero, one or more)
Zero to many

To more than one more

Many to many relationship

Figure 15. Entity Relationship Diagram

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

27
Mean
This is the average of the scores – the mathematical center of a distribution. It used
symmetrical, unimodal distributions of interval or ratio scores.

This formula mean is:

X͞ = Σ ᵡ Σ ᵡ = sum of all scores
ᶯ = number of scores

Coding Scheme
The five (5) Experts evaluated the system using this following scale:
5 - Strongly Agree
4 - Agree
3 – Slightly Agree
2 – Slightly Disagree
1 - Strongly Disagree
The obtained mean was interpreted using the following:
Alpha Testing
Usability
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 - 5.00 Highly Usable
3.40 - 4.19 Moderately Usable
2.60 - 3.39 Usable
1.80 - 2.59 Moderately Unusable
1.00 - 1.79 Highly Unusable
Efficiency
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Efficient
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Efficient
2.60 – 3.39 Efficient
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Inefficient
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Inefficient
Maintainability

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

28
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Maintainable
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Maintainable
2.60 – 3.39 Maintainable
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Unmaintainable
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Unmaintainable

Portability
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Easy Portable
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Portable
2.60 – 3.39 Portable
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Unportable
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Unportable

Beta Testing
Overall Satisfaction
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Satisfied
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Satisfied
2.60 – 3.39 Satisfied
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Dissatisfied
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Dissatisfied

Ease of Use
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Accessible
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Accessible
2.60 – 3.39 Accessible
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Inaccessible
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Inaccessible

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

29
Performance
Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Perform
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Perform
2.60 – 3.39 Perform
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Underperform
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Underperform

Features and Functionality

Numerical Rating Scale Adjectival Rating
4.20 – 5.00 Highly Functional
3.40 – 4.19 Moderately Functional
2.60 – 3.39 Functional
1.80 – 2.59 Moderately Malfunctional
1.00 – 1.79 Highly Malfunctional

Percentage
It defines as the part of express in hundredths. The formula for percentage is
P=(n/t) x 100
P = Percentage t = total number of respondent’s n = number

System Testing
To record the system performance at an expert level, alpha testing was conducted.
The system testing was scrutinized by respondents who are experts in the field of
information Technology and Computer Science. Their expertise and valuable
recommendations for the efficient use of the system would be a great help to the overall
progress of the system before the acceptance testing is carried out.

Acceptance Testing
An acceptance testing was recommended to determine the usability to confirm if
the system is complete and ready for its full-scale implementation.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

30
The acceptance testing is usually conducted by its end users to see how firm the system
and how beneficial the system is.

Software Evaluation
This part discussed how the system demonstrated, tested and evaluated by the
experts and the regular users.

Research Design
This study entitled “MobileMangrove: A Mangrove Plant Identifier Application”
was subjected to an expert evaluation testing. Hence, the research design used was
developmental-evaluative design to test the developed system.

Research Locale
The study will be conducted in the Borongan, Eastern Samar. The respondents
will answer questionnaires in their houses or any comfortable place that the respondent
will choose to. The researchers chose the place of implementation because it will give
the researchers the needed information for Mobile Mangrove Plant Identifier Application.
The study will be conducted in the 2 nd semester of the academic year 2023-24 to 1 st
semester of the academic year 2024-2025.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

31
 Figure 16. Map of City Hall Borongan City, Eastern Samar

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

32
 Chapter IV
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the Mangrove Plant Identifier Application Screenshots of User

Interface Design are shown, and also the findings and results of the Alpha and Beta
Testing of this study that was conducted in City Environmental and Natural Resources
Office and in College of Computer Studies of Eastern Samar State University Main
Campus are presented below.

Figure 17. The figure shows the mobile application’s home page. This is where the
users will be directed if they launch the mobile application.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

33
Figure 18. This is where the users will be directed if they press the scan button from the
home page.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

34
 Figure 19. This is where the users will be directed if they scan a mangrove plant.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

35
 Figure 20. This is the result of the identified mangrove plant.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

36
Figure 21. This is where the users will be directed if they press the gallery button and if
they want to identify stored images from gallery.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

37
Alpha Testing
The tables below show the findings of testing and surveys carried out by the
College of Computer Studies, IT Department Faculty members who are regarded as IT
Specialists using a questionnaire adapted from ISO 9126 Software Product Quality
Model questionnaire.

Table 3. Usability Mean and Interpretation Result.

USABILITY MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The application's user interface is intuitive and
4.8 Highly Usable
easy to navigate.
2. The application provides clear instructions for data
4.6 Highly Usable
input and management.

3. The application is user-friendly for individuals with

5 Highly Usable
varying levels of technical expertise.

4. The application provides adequate support and

4 Usable
resources for troubleshooting.

5. The application is easy to customize to meet

4.2 Highly Usable
individual user needs.
Grand Mean 4.52 Highly Usable

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.52, interpreted as High Usable. The result implied that the application had adhered to
the ISO standards in terms of reliability.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

38
Table 4. Efficiency Mean and Interpretation Result.

EFFICIENCY MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The application makes efficient use of mobile
4.4 Highly Efficient
device resources such as battery life and storage.
2. The application minimizes unnecessary steps to
4.2 Highly Efficient
complete tasks.
3. The application performs tasks in a timely manner. 4.2 Highly Efficient
4. The application efficiently handles simultaneous
4.4 Highly Efficient
users without performance degradation.
5. The application provides regular updates and
4.2 Highly Efficient
maintenance to ensure optimal performance.
Grand Mean 4.28 Highly Efficient

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.28, interpreted as Highly Efficient. The result implied that the application had adhered
to the ISO standards in terms of reliability.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

39
Table 5. Maintainability Mean and Interpretation Result.

MAINTAINABILITY MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The application is easy to update with new
4.6 Highly Maintainable
features and improvements.
2. The application provides clear documentation
4.2 Highly Maintainable
and support for maintenance.
3. The application is designed to minimize
4.4 Highly Maintainable
downtime and disruptions during updates.
4. The application provides a clear and
transparent process for reporting and addressing 4.2 Highly Maintainable
issues.
5. The application has a clear plan for future
4.4 Highly Maintainable
development and expansion.
Grand Mean 4.36 Highly Maintainable

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.36, interpreted as Highly Maintainable. The result implied that the application had
adhered to the ISO standards in terms of reliability.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

40
Table 6. Portability Mean and Interpretation Result.

PORTABILITY MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The application can be easily accessed and
4.6 Easy Portable
used on various mobile devices.
2. The application is compatible with different
4.4 Easy Portable
operating systems and platforms.
3. The application's data can be easily exported
4.2 Easy Portable
to different file formats.
4. The application provides a seamless user
4.2 Easy Portable
experience across different devices and platforms.
5. The application is designed to adapt to
changing mobile device and operating system 4.4 Easy Portable
landscapes.
Grand Mean 4.36 Easy Portable

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.36, interpreted as Easy Portable. The result implied that the application had adhered to
the ISO standards in terms of reliability.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

41
Beta Testing
The Beta Testing or the End User Testing is the last phase in software testing
process. The end users evaluated the application to determine the usability using the
IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaire. Below is the frequency and the
percentage distribution of the respondents who participated in the Beta Testing:

Acceptance Testing – System End-User

This section discusses the results obtained after conducting Beta testing on end
users, with the results shown below using the IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction
survey. The level of application’s usability as reported by the target respondents (a total
of 20 respondents) is displayed below.

Table 7. Overall Satisfaction Mean and Interpretation Result.

OVERALL SATISFACTION MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. Overall, I am satisfied with the Mobile
4.65 Highly Satisfied
Mangrove application.
2. The Mobile Mangrove application is easy to
4.32 Highly Satisfied
use.
3. The Mobile Mangrove application effectively
4.3 Highly Satisfied
identifies mangrove species.
4. I am able to complete my tasks quickly using
4.2 Highly Satisfied
the Mobile Mangrove application.
5. I feel comfortable using the Mobile Mangrove
4.85 Highly Satisfied
application.
Grand Mean 4.46 Highly Satisfied

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.46, interpreted as Highly Satisfied. The result implied that the application had adhered
to the IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction survey.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

42
Table 8. Ease of Use Mean and Interpretation Result.

EASE OF USE MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. It was easy to learn to use the Mobile
4.6 Highly Accessible
Mangrove application.
2. The Mobile Mangrove application's user
interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. 4.5 Highly Accessible

3. The Mobile Mangrove application provides

clear instructions for data input and management. 4.4 Highly Accessible

4. The Mobile Mangrove application is user-

friendly for individuals with varying levels of 4.45 Highly Accessible
technical expertise.
5. The Mobile Mangrove application provides
adequate support and resources for 4.6 Highly Accessible
troubleshooting.
Grand Mean 4.51 Highly Accessible

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.51, interpreted as Highly Accessible. The result implied that the application had
adhered to the IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction survey.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

43
Table 9. Performance Mean and Interpretation Result.

PERFORMANCE MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The Mobile Mangrove application performs
4.45 Highly Perform
tasks in a timely manner.
2. The Mobile Mangrove application efficiently
handles simultaneous users without performance
4.3 Highly Perform
degradation.

3. The Mobile Mangrove application makes

efficient use of mobile device resources such as
4.2 Highly Perform
battery life and storage.

4. The Mobile Mangrove application minimizes

4.6 Highly Perform
unnecessary steps to complete tasks.
5. The Mobile Mangrove application provides
regular updates and maintenance to ensure 4.6 Highly Perform
optimal performance.
Grand Mean 4.43 Highly Perform

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.43, interpreted as Highly Perform. The result implied that the application had adhered
to the IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction survey.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

44
Table 10. Features and Functionality Mean and Interpretation Result.

FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY MEAN INTERPRETATION

1. The Mobile Mangrove application's database of
mangrove species is comprehensive and 4.4 Highly Functional
accurate.
2. The Mobile Mangrove application's camera
feature is useful for identifying mangrove species. 4.35 Highly Functional

3. The Mobile Mangrove application provides

accurate location details for mangrove species. 4.45 Highly Functional

4. The Mobile Mangrove application provides a

seamless user experience across different 4.55 Highly Functional
devices and platforms.
5. The Mobile Mangrove application is compatible
4.2 Highly Functional
with different operating systems and platforms.
Grand Mean 4.44 Highly Functional

The results in this Table shows that the application had gained a grand mean of
4.44, interpreted as Highly Functional. The result implied that the application had
adhered to the IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction survey.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

45
 Chapter V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

For many people in coastal communities, mangrove forests provide their

livelihoods, much of the food they eat, and crucial protection from storms and erosion.
There's also strong evidence that mangroves play an important role in maintaining the
balance of our climate. But it’s not easy to determine the species of the mangroves.
This project may help them reduce the time and have an ease of access of
knowledge on regards to identify the mangrove plant. On which this will be a great help
for those who are on the mangrove nursery on sorting out mangrove seedlings.

Based on the rigorous development and the series of testing done, the following
conclusions were drawn:

1.The researchers were able to successfully develop and integrate into the
application of the following components and features:
1.1. The application is enabled to use the camera to capture an image of
mangrove plant.
1.2. The application is easy to use for mangrove identification.
2. The researchers used IBM and ISO 9126 questionnaire evaluation tool as an
intermediary questionnaire to our system and received good and positive comments
from the respondent’s which means that the system passed the IBM and ISO 9126
standards.
After the accomplishments through this study, the researcher recommends to the
future researcher of this kind of this projects that they upgrade the selected mangrove
species to be able to identify for more diversity of knowledge.

Borongan City 6800

Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

46
Borongan City 6800
Eastern Samar, Philippines
[email protected]
https://essu.edu.ph

47