DIVERSITY OF PLANT TREES IN THE FORESTLAND OF ABUAN,

WATERSHED, ILAGAN CITY

SARAH JANE M. CABATBAT

THESIS

Republic of the Philippines

Isabela State University
Echaque, Isabela

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher had to take the help and guidance of some respected and honorable
person, who deserve greatest gratitude. The completion of this study gives the researcher
much pleasure and too much happiness that they cant forget in their entire life.
The researcher would like to give thanks to Mrs. _________________________,
research adviser, for giving them advice for the research study throughout numerous
consultations.
Mr. ___________________, statistician, for his patience in checking the statistical
analysis of the data and for teaching the formula in solving the analysis of variance.
Mrs. ____________________, English critic of this study in checking the
grammar and guiding them to finish this study.
In addition, a thank you to Mrs. _____________________, School librarian, for
allowing them to use the books and other references for the research and for giving them
advice and suggestions to finish the study.
To the panelist, ____________________, __________________________ and
_______________________, for their suggestions and recommendation for the
improvement of this research.
To Dr. _____________________, Dean of college of arts and sciences for better
results of this study.
Special acknowledgement is most extended to their loving parent, Mr. & Mrs.
Cesar M. Cabatbat, for their sacrifices, moral and finance support which led to the
success of this research study.
Above all, to our Almighty God, for guiding them always, for giving them
strength and knowledge to finish study and giving them patience during the study.

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Land use changes have been continuous since the beginning of civilization,
especially for agricultural activities (e.g., Bellot, et al., 2001). Changes in land use and
resulting land cover throughout the world have caused important effects on natural
resources through deterioration of soil and water quality, loss of biodiversity, and in the
long term, through changes in climate systems. This situation has stimulated research that
aims to better understand the factors driving land use and cover change and the effects of
these changes on the environment (de Koning et al., 1998). Even though land use change
is occurring in many places of the world, the greatest concerns are in tropical forests
because these areas have many important functions. Tropical regions and their forests
provide a major control for regional and global climate. Examples of services supplied by
tropical forests include: (1) habitat and homes for many life forms, including local and
indigenous people; (2) sources of timber and pharmaceutical products; (3) carbon sinks;
and, most importantly, (4) maintenance of natural ecosystem services (Salati and Vose,
1984; Janzen, 1986; Balick and Mendelshon, 1992; Alcorn, 1993; Fearnside, 1997;
Laurance, 1999).
However, the destruction of tropical forests continues. At the global scale, an
average of 15.4 million ha of tropical forests is destroyed each year, while another 5.6
million ha is logged and converted to another forest cover. The net rate of forest
conversion (21 million ha/year) implies that about 1.2% of all remaining tropical forests
are cleared or logged annually. In total, the American tropics have the highest area of 2
forest conversion, but since tropical forests in Asia are more limited, these forests have
the highest relative rate of conversion and logging (Laurence, 1998; Laurence, 1999;
Leopold, 2001).

At the local and regional scales, forests are crucial for maintaining the stability of
rivers and watersheds. National and regional concerns for forest conversion and
reforestation most often focus on the loss of the watershed functions of natural forests.
The loss of watershed functions can be a combination of on-site concerns such as loss of
land productivity because of erosion, off-site concerns related to water quantity (annual
water yield, peak/storm flow, dry season base flow and ground water discharge) and
concern about water quality including siltation of reservoirs (Krairapanod and Atkinson,
1998; Susswein et al., 2000).

Objective of the study

Generally, this study aimed to determine the diversity of plant trees in the
forestland of Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan City. Specially it aimed to:
1. identify plant trees present in the forestland of Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan City.
2. describe the morphology and taxonomy of plant trees present in the study area.
3. determine the community structure of the forestland trees density, relative density,
abundance, frequency, relative frequency, importance value and importance percentage of
plant trees;
4. measure the diversity of the plant trees in the study area using various parameter.

Limitation of the study

This study will be limited on the identification of plant trees present in the
forestland of the Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan City . It also dealt on the description of the
morphology and taxonomy of the plant trees identified and the trees diversity of the
forestland area.

Time and Place of the Study

This study will be conducted at the forestland of the Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan
City on January 2017.

Definition of terms
To provide better understanding of the foregoing study, the following terms are
defined.
Density. This is measured by the actual count of species per unit area.
Frequency. This is the percentage of sample plots in which a species or target group
appears.
Abundance. This is the measure of the amount of a species or target group per a
predefined scale, such as not found, rare, few, many and abundant.
Identification. This refers to the process of identifying organisms to common, specific
and class names based on inherited features of the organisms.
Richness. This is the number of species per sampling area. The more species present in a
sample, the richer the sample.
Quadrat. This refers to the sampling unit or plot. In this study, the shape of the quadrat is
square measuring 1m x 1m that served as the sampling units.
Simpsons diversity index. This is a measure of diversity. In ecology, it is often used to
quality the biodiversity of community in each habitat. It considers the number of species
present, as well as the abundance of each species.
Trees richness. This is the number of species in each unit such as a trap, quadrat, lake,
country, etc.

Taxonomy. This refers to the classification of organisms in an ordered system that

indicates natural relationship.
Forestland. Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed
across the globe.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Forest is a large area dominated by trees. Hundreds of more precise definitions of

forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree
height, land use, legal standing and ecological function. (Kline 2007, Reid et al. 2006,
Tallis et al. 2008).
Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across
the globe. Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's
biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass. (Allen and Hoeskstra 1992,
Shugart 2004),
Forests at different latitudes and elevations form distinctly different Eco zones:
boreal forests near the poles, tropical forests near the equator and temperate forests at
mid-latitudes. Higher elevation areas tend to support forests like those at higher latitudes,
and amount of precipitation also affects forest composition. (Kline 2007, Kremen 2005).
Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve as tourist attractions.
Forests can also affect people's health. Human activities, including harvesting forest
resources, can negatively affect forest ecosystems. (DeGroot et al. 2002, Kline 2007).
Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's
biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass. (Mooney and Ehrlich 1997).
Forest ecosystems can be found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at
altitudes up to the tree line, except where natural fire frequency or other disturbance is
too high, or where the environment has been altered by human activity. (Plantinga et al.
2007, Stein et al. 2007).
Forests sometimes contain many tree species within a small area (as in tropical
rain and temperate deciduous forests), or relatively few species over large areas (e.g.,
taiga and arid montane coniferous forests). (Costanza et al. 1997, Daily 1997, Dissmeyer
2000). Forests are often home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit

area is high compared to other vegetation communities. Much of this biomass occurs
below ground in the root systems and as partially decomposed plant detritus. The woody
component of a forest contains lignin, which is relatively slow to decompose compared
with other organic materials such as cellulose or carbohydrate. (Garber-Yonts 2004,
Johnson and Stewart 2007, USDA FS 2006).
Forests provide a diversity of ecosystem services including converting carbon
dioxide into oxygen and biomass, acting as a carbon sink, aiding in regulating climate,
purifying water, mitigating natural hazards such as floods, and serving as a genetic
reserve. Forests also serve as a source of lumber and as recreational areas. (Foley et al.
2005).
Deciduous Forest Land. All forest ecosystems having a predominance of trees that
lose their leaves at the end of the frost- free season or at the beginning of a dry season.
This does not include tropical hardwoods and deciduous forest types characteristic of
wetlands are not included in this category. (Definition Source: A Land Use and Land
Cover Classification System for Use with Remote Sensing Data)
Evergreen Forest Land: All forest ecosystems having a predominance of trees that
remain green throughout the year. This includes both coniferous and broad-leaved
evergreens. In most areas, the coniferous evergreens predominate, but some of the forests
of Hawaii are notable exceptions. This does not include evergreen species commonly
associated with wetlands. (Definition Source: A Land Use and Land Cover Classification
System for Use with Remote Sensing Data).
Mixed Forest Land: All forest ecosystems where both evergreen and deciduous
trees are growing and neither predominates. This includes forestland where evergreen and
deciduous trees each represent at least one-third of the land cover. (Definition Source: A
Land Use and Land Cover Classification System for Use with Remote Sensing Data)
Tropical forests are characterized by the greatest diversity of species. They occur
near the equator, within the area bounded by latitudes 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S.

One of the major characteristics of tropical forests is their distinct seasonality: winter is
absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy and dry). The length of daylight is 12
hours and varies little. Stein et al. (2005)
Tropical Rainforest extremely rapid rates of nutrient transfer, due to high temps,
rainfall and humidity. Biomass is the largest store of nutrients due to the vast arrays of
plants found in the TRF. Few nutrients are in the litter, due to their rapid decomposition
because of high temperatures. Leaching is rapid and more so in areas of rainforest
clearance. (Alig et al. 2004).

METHODOLOGY

Selection of the Study Area

The study will be conducted in the existing forestland within the area of the
Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan City. A slightly disturbed area where there is an abundance of
species will be selected as the site for the study.

Sampling
Random sampling using quadrat method will be used in the study. It will be done
by getting 10% of the area which will be a representation of the total area of the
forestland quadrats will be established measuring one meter vertically and one meter
horizontally. Three quadrats will be randomly selected which served as the sampling
units.

Collection, Preservation and Identification of Specimen

Specimens will be collected in the study area. It will be done to determine
diversity of species. Preservation techniques will be employed to maintain the integrity
and good appearance of the specimens. Identification and classification of the specimens
will be done at the Abuan, Watershed, Ilagan City.

Gathered data
The following will be the gathered data.

1. Density of species. This is the measure of the number of a specific plant species in
given area. This will be calculated using the following formula:

Density of A species

Number of Individuals of Species A

Total area sampled

2. Relative density of species. This will be measured by:

Relative Density of A Species

Density for a Species A

Total Density for all Species

3. Frequency of species. This will be the number of quadrats where a given species occur.
4. Relative frequency of species. This will be measured by:
Relative Frequency of A Species =

Frequency Value for A Species

Total Frequency for all species

x 100

5. Abundance. The abundance of the plant species will be determined by the total
population count using the following scale recommended by Odum (1995).
-

not found

rare; more than 1

++

few, more than 10

+++

many, more than 20

++++ abundant, more than 30

6. Importance value. This will be calculated by:
Importance Value = Relative Density + Relative Frequency + Relative Abundance
7. Importance percentage. This will be measured by:

Importance Percentage = Importance Value 3 x 100

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