Diversity of understory flowering plants in the forest patches of Marilog District, Philippines
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Abstract
The forest patches of Marilog District, Davao are the remnants of various anthropogenic activities including logging, conversion of land for agriculture, ecotourism and human settlements. Floristic study was carried out in 2018–2019 from 100 established plots measuring 20 x 20 m, with repeated transect walks and opportunistic sampling along forest trails. One-hundred-and-four species of understory flowering plants were identified from 102 genera and 40 families. Species diversity mean values across study sites using Simpson’s (D) and Shannon-Wiener index (H’) were 0.97 and 3.9, respectively. Species diversity was highest in sites 2 and 4 (D = 0.98; H’ = 4.0 each) and lowest in site 5 (D = 0.96; H’ = 3.7). At family level, the most abundant taxa include Zingiberaceae (26 species) (15%), Orchidaceae (19 species) (11%), Gesneriaceae (14 species) (8%), and Rubiaceae and Arecaceae (13 species each) (7%). Conservation status assessment using International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed 10 threatened species, while listing from the Philippines’ administrative order has categorized 13 threatened species. A total of 54 species (ca. 1.14% of the total Philippine endemic vascular flora) of understory flowering plants were Philippine endemics. Findings of this study were used as additional data for the proclamation of Mt. Malambo as Local Conservation Area, which was formalized through a barangay resolution.
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