Plant diversity, aboveground biomass, and carbon stock along portions of Quezon Mountain Range were assessed in three elevation gradients, e.g., low (400-799 m a.s.l.), middle (800-1,199 m a.s.l.), and high (1,200-1,600 m a.s.l.) in Southern Mindanao using quadrat sampling technique. A total of 146 plant species were identified including threatened Shorea contorta, Parashorea malaanonan, Dillenia philipinensis, Alstonia macrophylla, Cinammomum mercadoi, Palaqium luzoniense, Neolitsea vidalii, Dacrycarpus elatumi, and Dacrycarpus imbricatus. On the average, low diversity was recorded in all gradients particularly in low and middle elevation ranges where alteration of vegetation cover, and proliferation of bio-invasive Piper aduncum were observed. Biomass and carbon stock were largest in high elevation where the inaccessible old growth forest is located compared to a proposed mine site in low and middle elevation that are predominated by grassland, farmlands, disturbed secondary growth forest, and human settlements. Overall, carbon stocks ranged from 33.8 to 192.0 MgC ha-1 suggesting the good potential of the area to mitigate climate change. Sustainable management of biodiversity and carbon stock is needed by apportioning productive and protective zones in the mountain.
Rehabilitation was conducted in an abandoned copper mined-out area in Mogpog, Marinduque by interplanting Jatropha curcas, a biodiesel source and potential phytoremediator, with different reforestation tree species, Pterocarpus indicus, Cassia spectabilis, Lagerstroemia speciosa and Bauhinia purpurea. The effect of the diversification treatment on the rhizosphere bacterial population, known to promote growth of host plant, was analyzed within a fifteen-month period (August 2007 to November 2008). The number of cultivable soil bacteria on-site prior to planting was very low (<0.01 to 2 x 103 CFU per g) owing to soil’s acidity (pH 5) and poorly nourished condition. Higher bacterial population was observed from Jatropha rhizosphere than soil without vegetation. Bacterial population also varied with diversification treatments. Highest populations (7.3 x 104 to 1.3 x 105 CFU per g) of Cu-, Pb- and Zn resistant bacteria were observed where in Jatropha was interplanted with Pterocarpus, Cassia, and Lagerstroemia. It appears that such treatment enhanced the population of heavy metal-resistant rhizosphere bacteria in Jatropha indicative of its potential in bioremediation. Randomly selected isolates were identified as Arthrobacter oxydans, Klebsiella variicola and Bacillus spp, which are all common soil bacteria. Rehabilitation of abandoned, mined-out areas can thus be naturally promoted by diversifying plants being introduced in such sites as this would enhance rhizosphere bacterial population.
The species composition, physiognomy and importance value of PagbilaoMangrove, a typical satoumi site in southern Luzon, Philippines was determinedfrom May 2009 to August 2010. Vegetation analysis was done within a 20x20mquadrat established in each of the landward, middleward and seaward zones.A total of 37 species were identified in all zones comprising 744 individualsbelonging to 28 genera and 18 families. Using Shannon Index of diversity, thelandward zone has the highest diversity followed by the seaward zone. The leastdiverse was the middleward zone. There was a similar trend in the proportion ofvarious tree heights and diameter in seaward, middleward and landward zones.The density of small trees was higher than those of the big ones. The IV ofthe species varied within the zones. In the order of decreasing IV A. marina> A. floridum > Sonneratia alba in seaward zone. In the middleward zone, A.officinalis > C. decandra > S. hydrophyllacea. At the landward zone, X. granatum> A. officinalis > R. mucronata > A. marina var. rumphiana. The current floristiccomposition of Pagbilao mangrove indicates that this ecosystem is still diversebased on the number and kinds of species present. With the satoumi frameworkin place, there is much hope in the conservation and management of thismangrove ecosystem.Keywords: Ecology, mangrove, floristic composition, physiognomy, species composition,physiognomy, importance value, descriptive design, Philippines
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.