LICOPHYTES AND FERNS IN PRIMARY FOREST AND PLANTATION OF Elaeis guineenses, SHANUSI

Abstract

In order to determine the composition of lycophytes and ferns in primary forest and in plantations of Elaeis guineensis"oil palm", comparing the richness and forms of life in the two ecosystems, two field trips were conducted in January and July 2022, selecting 6 sampling areas, 5 located in primary forest and 1 in a plantation, for the latter, the plot with the highest vegetation cover and presence of epiphytes in the stipe of "oil palm" was chosen. Transects were evaluated in a strip, following 5 trails of 200 m long and 5 m wide, which allowed the inventory and collection of specimens, which were transferred to the HUT,for their respective determination. Forty-seven species of ferns and three lycophytes were recorded, grouped into 16 families and 32 genera. The families Pteridaceae and Dryopteridaceae were the most representative in terms of genera and species. The forest zone had 42 species and the plantation zone 13 species (five species inhabit both the plantation and forest areas). In the plantation zone, because of its low richness, it was clearly differentiated from the points locatedin the forest zone, where the Cainarachi point was unpaired from the others, due to the phenomenon of decay of the floristic similarity due to distancing. The species Adiantum macrophyllum, A. pulverulentum, A. tetraphyllum, A. tomentosum, Asplenium serratum, Pelazoneuron abruptum var.grande, Lomariopsis fendlerii andTectariaincisa were widely distributed (PC of 66.7%). This allows us to conclude that the richness in the Shanusi zone is low compared to other similar zones in the region, in addition, the forest zone harbored most of the species where terrestrial life forms predominated, while, in the plantation zone most were epiphytes.