Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems
Forest and tree cover loss decreases the ecosystem services that they may provide such as food and livelihood, protection from calamities, oxygen to breathe, and storing of carbon. This study assessed the diversity, species composition, and carbon stock potential of trees located in Aurora, Philippi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Environmental Sciences Proceedings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4931/22/1/29 |
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| author | Ericson Esquibel Coracero Pastor Jr. L. Malabrigo Jayvee M. Bambalan Ivhon Kyle S. Palapal Reynan V. Guleng RB J. Gallego Mark John A. Suniega |
| author_facet | Ericson Esquibel Coracero Pastor Jr. L. Malabrigo Jayvee M. Bambalan Ivhon Kyle S. Palapal Reynan V. Guleng RB J. Gallego Mark John A. Suniega |
| author_sort | Ericson Esquibel Coracero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest and tree cover loss decreases the ecosystem services that they may provide such as food and livelihood, protection from calamities, oxygen to breathe, and storing of carbon. This study assessed the diversity, species composition, and carbon stock potential of trees located in Aurora, Philippines. Two areas were surveyed to represent preserved and developed ecosystems. The preserved ecosystem was represented by the ultramafic forest in Baler, Aurora, whereas the developed ecosystem was represented by the urbanizing portion of Dipaculao, Aurora. The sampling site in Baler included 27,400 m<sup>2</sup> plots and the site surveyed in Dipaculao had a total of 72.72 hectares of developed area. Results showed a higher tree diversity in Baler (H′ = 4.096) than in Dipaculao (H′ = 3.278). Species composition assessment also revealed a higher number of ecologically important species in Baler. Ecologically important species in Baler included 100% natives, 34.5% endemics, and 20.86% threatened. Dominant species in Baler were the native, endemic, and threatened <i>Xanthostemon philippinensis</i> Merr. and the native <i>Teijsmanniodendron ahernianum</i> (Merr.) Bakh. On the other hand, the developed ecosystem had 54.4% native, 4.41% endemic, and 11.76% threatened species. Dipaculao was dominated by introduced and invasive species such as <i>Swietenia macrophylla</i> King and <i>Gmelina arborea</i> Roxb. ex Sm. For the tree carbon stock assessment, a tremendous difference was found wherein the preserved ecosystem had 272.28 tons/ha carbon whereas the developed ecosystem had 16.28 tons/ha carbon. This study revealed ideal forest ecosystem characteristics in preserved forests with high diversity, the presence of many important species, and a large amount of carbon stock. This calls for immediate action from the government to continuously protect the natural forests and prioritize proper land use planning and the right choice of species to be integrated with developed areas to improve the ecosystem’s capacity to provide vital ecological services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0bd09e73121047539b550b083770a21b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4931 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Sciences Proceedings |
| spelling | doaj.art-0bd09e73121047539b550b083770a21b2023-11-17T10:59:36ZengMDPI AGEnvironmental Sciences Proceedings2673-49312022-10-012212910.3390/IECF2022-13061Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed EcosystemsEricson Esquibel Coracero0Pastor Jr. L. Malabrigo1Jayvee M. Bambalan2Ivhon Kyle S. Palapal3Reynan V. Guleng4RB J. Gallego5Mark John A. Suniega6College of Agriculture and Forestry, Batangas State University—The National Engineering University Lobo Campus, Lobo 4229, Batangas, PhilippinesDepartment of Forest Biological Sciences, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños 4031, Laguna, PhilippinesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Aurora State College of Technology, Baler 3200, Aurora, PhilippinesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Aurora State College of Technology, Baler 3200, Aurora, PhilippinesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Aurora State College of Technology, Baler 3200, Aurora, PhilippinesDepartment of Graduate Studies, Aurora State College of Technology, Baler 3200, Aurora, PhilippinesDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Aurora State College of Technology, Baler 3200, Aurora, PhilippinesForest and tree cover loss decreases the ecosystem services that they may provide such as food and livelihood, protection from calamities, oxygen to breathe, and storing of carbon. This study assessed the diversity, species composition, and carbon stock potential of trees located in Aurora, Philippines. Two areas were surveyed to represent preserved and developed ecosystems. The preserved ecosystem was represented by the ultramafic forest in Baler, Aurora, whereas the developed ecosystem was represented by the urbanizing portion of Dipaculao, Aurora. The sampling site in Baler included 27,400 m<sup>2</sup> plots and the site surveyed in Dipaculao had a total of 72.72 hectares of developed area. Results showed a higher tree diversity in Baler (H′ = 4.096) than in Dipaculao (H′ = 3.278). Species composition assessment also revealed a higher number of ecologically important species in Baler. Ecologically important species in Baler included 100% natives, 34.5% endemics, and 20.86% threatened. Dominant species in Baler were the native, endemic, and threatened <i>Xanthostemon philippinensis</i> Merr. and the native <i>Teijsmanniodendron ahernianum</i> (Merr.) Bakh. On the other hand, the developed ecosystem had 54.4% native, 4.41% endemic, and 11.76% threatened species. Dipaculao was dominated by introduced and invasive species such as <i>Swietenia macrophylla</i> King and <i>Gmelina arborea</i> Roxb. ex Sm. For the tree carbon stock assessment, a tremendous difference was found wherein the preserved ecosystem had 272.28 tons/ha carbon whereas the developed ecosystem had 16.28 tons/ha carbon. This study revealed ideal forest ecosystem characteristics in preserved forests with high diversity, the presence of many important species, and a large amount of carbon stock. This calls for immediate action from the government to continuously protect the natural forests and prioritize proper land use planning and the right choice of species to be integrated with developed areas to improve the ecosystem’s capacity to provide vital ecological services.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4931/22/1/29carbon stockforest managementnatural foresturban foresttree diversity |
| spellingShingle | Ericson Esquibel Coracero Pastor Jr. L. Malabrigo Jayvee M. Bambalan Ivhon Kyle S. Palapal Reynan V. Guleng RB J. Gallego Mark John A. Suniega Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Proceedings carbon stock forest management natural forest urban forest tree diversity |
| title | Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems |
| title_full | Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems |
| title_short | Diversity, Species Composition, and Carbon Stock Assessment of Trees in Aurora, Philippines: Variations between Preserved and Developed Ecosystems |
| title_sort | diversity species composition and carbon stock assessment of trees in aurora philippines variations between preserved and developed ecosystems |
| topic | carbon stock forest management natural forest urban forest tree diversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4931/22/1/29 |
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