Goals: For decades, the forest of West Timor has been removed for various purposes, leaving only tiny areas of forest growth. Understanding the tree-shrub mix and structure of this residual forest vegetation is critical for determining forest sustainability, species protection, and forest ecosystem management. As a result, this study looked at the existing structure and composition pattern of tree-shrub species in residual forest vegetation.
The Point Centered Quarter Method was used to construct this research study, which included a vegetation survey.
Between April and July 2020, the study project was undertaken in five sample stands of residual forest vegetation in the District of Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, namely Oliana, Tablolong, Fatukoa, Oenesu, and Alak.
Methodology: Three 100-m-long transects were placed in each sample stand to survey the tree-shrub vegetation using the Point Centered Quarter Method. The first transect was positioned at random, with the second and third transects parallel to the first and a distance of 100 metres between them. To create four quarters, sample locations were established at 10-meter intervals along each transect. The distance between the sample site and the nearest tree or shrub ( 1 m height) was measured in each quarter. Number of individuals, dominance, frequency, Importance Value Index (IVI), stem diameter at 0.5 m height, and average value of plant height were calculated for each tree or shrub species.Srensen Coefficient was also used to compute Index Similarity (IS) between stands.
Results: About 28 tree-shrub species from 16 families were identified from 600 individual trees and shrubs surveyed across a 1,500-meter line transect. The average number of species each stand was 9.60 (sd = 1.94), with 833 plants per hectare. In comparison to what is normally observed in rain forests, the number of species and families detected in the residual vegetation community was quite low. The IS between the two stands was 28.21 percent (sd = 14.40). The greatest IS was found between stand 1-2 (55.56 percent) and stand 1-4 (55.56 percent) (IS 47.62 percent ). Between stand 3-4 and 3-5, the lowest IS were found (IS 10.53 percent ). The five stands of residual vegetation were dominated by families of Fabaceae, Arecaceae, and Anacardiaceae based on the number of species, while they were dominated by Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and Sapindaceae based on the IVI. According to plant height, around 6.15 percent of the total individual was classified as a tiny plant (less than 2 m) and 3.32 percent as a large tree (more than 14 m). However, based on stem diameter, around 27.86 percent of the total individual was classified as a little plant (less than 10 cm) and about 2.99 percent as a large tree (more than 130 cm). Only roughly 14.26 percent of known species were in the category of very high IVI (>20 percent), whereas 71.43 percent were in the category of low and very low IVI (less than 10%). Tectona grandis Linn., Schleichera oleosa (Lour.), Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb., and Spondias pinnata (L.f.) Kurz provided more than 50% IVI in the five residual vegetation stands. Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw., Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poiret, Syzygium cumini (L.), Pterocarpus indicus Willd., Pinus mercusii Jungh. & de Vriese, Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, IVI included Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth. and Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth. Invasive species played a significant role in residual vegetation stands (total IVI 56.96%), with invasive weedy shrub species accounting for nearly a quarter of the total.
Conclusion: The low number of species and families, low species diversity, heterogeneous floristic composition (most species present were in the low occurrence category), and dominance of invasive non-native tree and shrub species all indicate that the five stands of remnant forest were in poor health, as evidenced by the low number of species and families, low species diversity, heterogeneous floristic composition, and the dominance of invasive non-native tree and shrub species. To avoid future degradation, the forest requires prompt intervention in the form of conservation and restoration measures.
Please click here:https://journalajee.com/index.php/AJEE/article/view/30186
No comments:
Post a Comment