Plant Diversity and Aboveground Carbon Stock Along Altitudinal Gradients in Quezon Mountain Range in Southern Mindanao, Philippines

Abstract

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.

Biophysical assessment of the plant biodiversity of Northern Negros Natural Park, Negros Island, Philippines

“…The species richness in NNNP is almost similar to the recorded data for Balbalasang-Balbalan National Park (Malabrigo 2013), Mount Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary (Malabrigo, Tobias and Boncodin 2018), Quezon Mountain Range (Gevaña et al 2013) and other mountains in the Philippines (Table 3).…”

Comparison of the Use of Sentinel-1 Sar and Alos-2 Palsar-2 in Mangrove Aboveground Biomass Estimation in San Juan, Batangas, Philippines

“…Conventional methods used to study mangroves, especially mangrove biomass, such as field surveys and non-destructive sampling, as employed by Gevana et al (2008) and Gevana and Pampolina (2009) in their research on the area, are laborintensive and have ecological impacts. In contrast, remote sensing technologies, specifically, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, offer a promising, non-invasive, and more efficient approach to estimating mangrove biomass, presenting an alternative to the labor-intensive and costly traditional methods.…”