Comparison of Floral Diversity of Pine Forest, Agroforestry and Agricultural Land-Uses in Talinguroy Research Station, Benguet State University, Northern Philippines

Abstract

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity identified insufficient knowledge bases as one of main barrier for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, tropical coniferous forest was identified as the least represented biome in terms of local-scale species richness amidst being susceptible to land-use change. This makes the study opportune and much needed as it documented and compared the floral diversity in three landuses, namely agriculture, agroforestry and tropical pine forest, of Talinguroy Research Station, Benguet State University in Cordillera Central Range, Northern Philippines using plot method. A total of 68 species belonging to 63 genera and 40 families was documented, Family Poaceae and Asteraceae being the most represented with 11 and 10 species. Greater Asteraceae and herb species were documented in agricultural plots>agroforesty>forest but indigenous/ endemic species, over-all species diversity, shrub and tree diversity was highest in forest>agroforestry>agricultural plots. Lowest species similarity was observed between agricultural plots and pine forest while highest between agroforestry and pine forest. These results illustrated a direct effect of human disturbance brought by land-use change on species diversity of the area. Greater disturbance resulted to a lower diversity of indigenous and endemic species, lower over-all species diversity, lower shrub and tree diversity but higher herb diversity. Moreover, the study found agriculture to cause more change in species composition than agroforestry. Interestingly, higher Asteraceae species were correlated positively with higher degree of human disturbance. Higher Asteraceae species were positively correlated with higher degree of human disturbance. These information are important baseline information in crafting conservation measures particularly for several endangered indigenous and endemic species in the region.
Comparison