Vegetation diversity of Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest, West Kutai, East Kalimantan

Abstract

Indonesia is a biodiversity-rich country with the second-largest tropical forest in the world. One East Kalimantan Forest area in focus is the Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest. The Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest is the first customary forest with its license granted in East Kalimantan by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. Information on vegetation diversity is essential to ensure sustainable management of this forest area. This research provides such information through a survey with purposively chosen samples representing Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest. The study reveals that the Importance Value Index of vegetation in different habitus (i.e., seedling, sapling, pole, and tree) are low, except for Elateriospermum tapos Blume, which has a moderate value for the vegetation at the pole and tree habitus. The research also shows a high Richness Index (R), high Diversity Index’(H'), an almost evenly distributed Evenness Index (e), and a low Dominance Index (C). Syzygium borneensis (Miq.) Miq. and Knema elmerii Merr. have the highest Importance Value Index for seedling and sapling habitus, respectively, while Elateriospermum tapos Blume has the highest Species Significance Index for both pole and tree habitus. This study also found two dipterocarp tree species categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), namely Shorea johorensis Foxw. and Shorea lamellata Foxw. The presence of these CR species calls serious attention to managing the Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest mainly for hydrological function and conservation purposes while improving local communities' economy.

The potential of five wild growing aromatic plants from Hemaq Beniung Customary Forest on antidiabetic activity

“…West Kutai, located in East Kalimantan, is known for its many aromatic plants, some of which have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes (Kusuma et al 2014;Matius et al 2018;Lestari and Syafah 2019;Paramita et al 2022;Sundari et al 2022). However, only a few of these plants have been scientifically validated for their medicinal properties, such as those with antidiabetic effects.…”