ABSTRACT

The Zinggiberaceae which represent relatively advance monocotyledonous plants are rhizomatous herbs found throughout tropical and subtropical region with its main distribution in Asia. It comprises at least 51 genera and 1500 species. The IndoMalayan region is reportedly the centre of diversity of Zinggiberaceae with at least 20 genera and 160 species occurring in Borneo, while Holttum (1960) recorded 23 genera and 200 species for Peninsular Malaysia. Recent surveys and systematic studies may have increased these even more. It is unanimous opinion amongst scientists today that the loss of species and reduction of genetic diversity due to environmental hazards and habitat depletion is escalating. Hence the vast potential of underexploited, non-timber species such as gingers is destroyed with vanishing forests before the could even be studied or documented. Conservation of such underexploited species is essential not only for basic research, on which a lot of the basic informing is still lacking, but also for applied research with the aim of exploiting and utilizing species with economic potential. The need for research in gingers is made urgent by the fact that out of the seven underexploited commodity group identified by CUC (The Nature for Underutilized Crops, London), gingers are included in at least four of the groups. In addition, among the oldest species known to man were ginger and numeric, which also belong to the Zingiberaceae.

INTRODUCTION The Zinggiberaceae is a moderately-sized family of relatively advanced

monocotylodonous plants of the order Zingiberales. Zingiberaceous plants are rhizomatous, perrenial and aromatic herbs often of large size, bearing flowers either terminally on aerial leaf shoots or from ground level. These are plants of tropical and subtropical regions distributed mainly in Asia. Several authors have quoted different figures for the total number of genera and species but it is probably appropriate to quote the world record to be at least 51 genera and 1500 species (Chen & Chen, 1998). The Indo-Malayan region is reportedly the centre of diversity for Zinggiberaceae with at least 20 genera species occurring in Borneo, while Hottlum (1950) recorded 23 genera and 200 species for Peninsular Malaysia (Hottlums genera were later reduced by Smiths revision of Bornean gingers). Zingiberaceae is one of the significant components of the herbaceous ground flora of Malaysian tropical forests. This family counts more than 1200 species and Borneo harbours over 200 species.1 The current records indicate that the tribes Alpinene and Zingibereacea are quite well represented in Borneo including 2 genera (Burbidgea and Geanthus) unknown in Peninsular Malaysia. Expect for the 20 species described for Boesenbergia, the tribe Hedychease, with only 6 genera, is poorly represented in Borneo (Smith, 1987). The tribe Globeae is similarly poorly represented with 8 species described so far (Smith, 1988). Many wild species, especially species from Sabah and Sarawak, remained undescribed and to a large extent undocumented. Identification of Zinggiberaceae of Borneo, in general, and Sabah, in particular, is sometimes very difficult due to lack of good reference specimens and limited literature for Borneo gingers. Earlier reports have shown that the diversity of ginger family (Zinggiberaceae) in Sabah is rather high, some bearing unique and distinct inflorescence structure unknown in Peninsular Malaysia.

Gingers of Sabah can be grouped as follows:

1

New Sabah Times. 2009. Gingers in Borneo. New Sabah Times, 12 April, 24

a) Epiphytic species: e.g., Burbidgea pubescens Ridl., B, stenantha Ridl., Hedychium muluense R.M. Smith. Several other species of Burbidgeae have also reported to occasionally epiphytic (Smith, 1972). b) Species of riverine habitats: e.g., Globba spp. (G. pendula Roxb., G. fraciscil Ridl. Which are also known to inhabit other moist habitats), several Zingiber spp.., Alpinia spp. Etlingera spp. c) Species of distributed secondary forests: The most common gingers are Etlingera spp. Such as E. fimbriobracteata (K. Schuman) R.M. Smith E. brevilabris (Val.) R.M. Smith, E. littorlis (Koeing.) Giseke E. punicea (Roxb) R.M. Smith. d) Mountain species: e.g., Alpinia havilandii K. Schuman., Hornstedtia Hedychium cylindricum Ridl. e) Species of primary forest: These are species from all tribes that grow chiefly in cool shaded areas. In comparison to Peninsular Malaysia, species of Plagiostachys. Amomum and Zingber are higher in numbers in primary forest of Sabah. f) Small plants of forest floor: e.g., Boesenbergia spp. (Boesenbergia pulchella Ridll., is the most common), Scaphochlamys spp., Globba spp. Etc. g) Gingers of swampy vegetation or habitat: e.g. Alpinia ligulata K. Schum. And Alpinia nieuwenhuizii Val. (Source: Ibrahim, H., 1990) The objective of this survey is to study the diversity, density and composition of wild ginger plants in this area. The collected information can be used to assess the importance of Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve as an in-situ conservation area for gingers in Sabah. The results are reported in this paper.

METHODOLOGY Study site The study site for the preliminary survey of wild ginger was only took place in the area of Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve (Figure1). Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve is located in Kinarut Papar, Sabah which is approximately 30 km from Kota Kinabalu city. The topography of this forest is about 6 m to 610 m and with approximately 1550 ha large in area and its terrain is hilly with slopes sometimes reaching 25. The main vegetations of this forest reserve are 19% of primary forest which the floras consist the mixture of dipterocarp species, 69% of secondary forest, 8% for shrubs and another 4% of open spaces area (Joseph et al., 1998). Approximately 80% of Pusat Sejadis forest is secondary forest and its geographical is pretty hilly.

Sampling method A sampling plot of 50m x 40m (0.008ha) was developed. Four (4) randomly selected plots namely Plot 1, 2, 3 and 4 were established to cover spatial variability. These plots covered 0.04 hectare of the area of Pusat Sejadi. All plots surveyed are those at different elevations ranging from 20 to 80 m. The identification of wild ginger was based only on observations. All wild ginger species that found in each plot were recorded. Viable rhizomes of one species collected from randomly selected plots were obtained to provide planting materials for further study. Table 1: The five plots established at Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve (plot 14) and their characteristics Plot 1 2 3 4 Measurement All the wild ginger species that were found in Pusat Sejadi were divided into its group or category type to achieve the first objective of the study and the recorded data were computed by using two indices (Shannon Weiner diversity index and Sorensen index) to calculate the diversity of wild ginger in this area. When measuring diversity it is good to remember that what we are trying to describe is the relationship of individuals of varying species within a community. Shannons index was used because we want to measure on the species richness within the forest area. The value of Shannon diversity is usually found to fall between 1.5 and 3.5 and only rarely it surpasses 4.5. Size (m2) 4 X 20 4 X 20 4 X 20 4 X 20

RESULTS Category type of wild ginger species There were 62 totals of wild ginger which represent the 0.04 hectare area of the forest. Based on the collected data, it showed a variation in the appearance of wild ginger plants in all plots. There were 3 genera of ginger family; Amomum, Etlingera and Plagiostachys that had been collected. Table 2: List of ginger species in the study plots Genus Species Name No. of Individual Species Amomum A.dimorphum 2 A.uligonosom 3 Etlingera E. longituba 1 E. velutina 13 Plagiostachys P. albiflora 43 TOTAL 5 62

Percentage (%) 8 23 69 100

Figure 2: Category type of wild ginger species in Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Recreational Forest
80 60 40 20 0
Genus

6 9

2 3 8

A o u mmm Etlin e g ra P io lag stach ys

Table 3: Species Relative density in the study plots Relative Density % Species Name Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 A.dimorphum 4 0 7 A.uligonosom 0 20 0 E. longituba 0 7 0 E. velutina 12 13 7 P. albiflora 84 60 86 Total 100% 100% 100%

Plot 4 0 0 0 87 13 100%

Species Composition of wild ginger Genera of Plagiostachys took a big portion of the percentage of composition or communities of wild ginger species present in Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve. Species namely E. velutina and P. albiflora are presence in all study plots. Table 4: List of species composition in the study plots Species Name Plot 1 Plot 2 A.dimorphum 1 0 A.uligonosom 0 1 E. longituba 0 1 E. velutina 1 1 P. albiflora 1 1 1: Presence 0: absence

Plot 3 1 0 0 1 1

Plot 4 0 0 0 1 1

Table 5: Sorensen index (measurement of the community similarity) Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 1 0.57 1 Plot 2 0.57 Plot 3 Diversity

Plot 4 0.8 0.67 0.8

According to the results of Shannon Weiner index that had been calculated in all types of different study plots, it shows that plot 2 had the highest value of H and plot 4 it had the lowest value of the indices. Table 6: Shannon Weiner index (measurement of the species diversity) a) Forest Area, H = 0.90388 b) Study Plots, Study Plots H Plot 1
0.52857

Plot 2
1.07977

Plot 3
0.50201

Plot 4
0.38639

DISCUSSION

There are about 168 species of gingers in Sabah (see: Gobilik & Yusoff, 2005; Gobilik et al., 2005a; Poulsen, 2006; Julius et al., 2007). However, only five species of wild gingers from 3 different genera (Etlingera,Plagiostachys and Amomum) were successfully identified specifically A. dimorphum, A. uligonosom, E. longituba, E. velutina and P. albiflora present in 0.04 hectare area of Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve. This findings was support by claims where species of Plagiostachys and Amomum are higher in numbers in primary forest of Sabah (see:Ibrahim, H.,1999). In terms of species composition and relative density, the result showed that Plots 1 and 3 were 100% inseparable from each other and were distinctively dissimilar (100%) from Plots 2 and 4. Plots 2 and 4, on the other hand, were only 67% similar (see: Table 4). Individuals distributions (species diversity) among the study plots were low evenness. Based on the survey, the abundance wild ginger species in this 0.04 hectare forest area was P. albiflora followed by E. velutina. Therefore, their species densities were slightly higher than other species. P. albiflora densities for each Plot 1, 2 and 3 were at the highest within the plot area. However, in Plot 4 contrast to E. velutina the density was very low.We predict that at the higher elevation, P. albiflora species cannot be well survived. The humid environment at the ground level of the forest and the suitable soil create the best environment for P. albiflora to thrive abundantly. In contrast, E. longituba had the lowest abundance species than others; only one species found within the 0.04 hectare forest area which is in Plot 2. This finding was interesting as this species also was found common and abundantly at Tawau Hills Park (See: Ibrahim, H., 1999). As evidence, the richness of ginger species in this area decreases with increasing altitude (Table 4). Light and precipitation are the other two factors which influence the density and species richness of gingers in the forest area. This is because many gingers are growing well only in open, wet and humid conditions (Larsen et al., 1999; Poulsen, 2006).

Based on Shanon index (Table 6) the highest species diversity was found to be in plot 2 and the lowest was in plot 4. Plot 2 provides cool shaded areas and moist

condition for the gingers to thrive abundantly. Etlingera species was rich in plot 2 compared to other plot. In general, Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Recreational Forest index of diversity had shown value of 0.90388, which is fall far below the index. This explains that the diversity of Zinggiberaceae in Kawang Recreational Forest is rather low. Thus, the importance of Kawang Recreational Forest as an in situ conservation area for gingers can be highlighted only by the occurrence of this species. It is significance to conserve E. longituba which had the lowest abundance species and also available at Tawau Hills Park. It is rationale to conserve the diversity of Zinggiberaceae in Sabah naturally, not only in Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Recreational Forest but other natural forest as well. Many more special gingers may, however, be found at this area in the future if further research and identification were to be carried out. This further study also can solve difficulties in identification on Borneo gingers due to lack of good reference specimens and limited literature CONCLUSION The low diversity of wild ginger in Kawang Recreational Forest makes it importance as an in situ conservation of all the habitats. Many more special gingers may, however, be found at this area in the future if intensive inventories were to be carried out. The village folks of Sayap have reported that certain wild specimens of Zingiber are useful in the treatment of snakebites. To ensure sustainable utilization of these zingiberaceous plants and other herbs, it is important to conserve the area and its flora.

REFERENCES

Gobilik, J. 2008. Diversity of gingers at Serudong, Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation. 1: 15-21. Gobilik, J., A. Lamb and M. Yusoff. 2005. Two new species of Plagiostachys (Zingiberaceae) from Sabah, Borneo. Sandakania. 16: 49 56. Ibrahim, H. [1990] Gingers of Sabah: Conservation, research and exploitation of species with economic potential. Proceedings of the International Conference in Borneo, Ed. Ghazally Ismail et al : 32-40. [l998] Diversity, Distribution and Some Notes on Gingers of Sayap-Kinabalu Park, Sabah. In: Proceedings of ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC), Article III, June 1998. [l999] Zingiberaceous Species of Tawau Hills Park, Sabah. In: Proceedings of ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC), Article VI, January-February. Joseph Tangah, Rueben Nilus and Robert, C. Ong. (1998). Kajian Status Hutan Simpan Domestik Di Sabah. Sandakan Sabah: Pusat Penyelidikan Perhutanan. Unpublish. Julius, A., M. Suleiman and A. Takano. 2007. Five new species of Plagiostachys (Zingiberaceae) from Borneo. Acta Phytotaxonomy and Geobotany. 58: 1 17. Larsen, K., H. Ibrahim, S. H. Kaw and L. G. Saw. 1999. Gingers of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Kota Kinabalu: Natural History Publications (Borneo). Mojiol, A.R, Jitinu, A.M.A and Adella, A. etl. 2009. Vascular Epiphytes Diversity at Pusat Sejadi, Kawang Forest Reserve, Sabah Malaysia. Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.121-127. Poulsen, A. D. 2006. Etlingera of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu: Natural History Publications (Borneo). Smith, R.M. [1985] A review of Bornean Zingiberaceae: 1 (Alpineae) Notes RGB Edinb. 42(2):261 314. [1986] Etlingera : the inclusive name for Achasma, Geanthus and Nicolaia (Zingiberaceae). Notes RGB. Edinb, 43(2):235-241. [1986] A review of Bornean Zingiberaceae: II (Alpineae, Concluded) Notes RGB, Edinb, 43(3):439-466. New Sabah Times. 2009. Gingers in Borneo. New Sabah Times, 12 April, 24

Appendices

Identification of wild ginger species E.velutina A.dimorphum

P. albiflora

A. uligonosom

Table 6: Shanon index (measurement of the species diversity) a) Forest area Species Name A.dimorphum A.uligonosom E. longituba E. velutina P. albiflora
Total No. of Individuals 2 3 1 13 Relative density (pi) 0.032 0.048 0.016 0.210 0.694 ln(pi) -3.442 -3.037 -4.135 -1.561 -0.366 -pi*ln pi 0.11014 0.14577 0.06616 0.32781 0.25400 0.90388

43
62

H =

b) Study plots Plot 1

Species Name A.dimorphum A.uligonosom E. longituba E. velutina P. albiflora

Total

No. of Individuals 1 0 0 3

21
25

Relative density (pi) 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.84 1

ln(pi) -3.192 0 0

-2.120
-0.174

H =

-pi*ln pi 0.12768 0 0 0.25443 0.14646 0.52857

Plot 2 Species Name A.dimorphum A.uligonosom E. longituba E. velutina P. albiflora

Total

No. of Individuals 0 3 1 2

Relative density (pi) 0.00 0.20 0.07 0.13

9
15

0.60
1

ln(pi) 0 -1.609 -2.659 -2.040 -0.511

H =

-pi*ln pi 0 0.32189 0.18615 0.26523 0.30650 1.07977

Plot 3 Species Name A.dimorphum A.uligonosom E. longituba E. velutina P. albiflora

Total No. of Individuals 1 0 0 1 Relative density (pi) 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.86 1 ln(pi) -2.659 0 -2.659 0 -0.151 -pi*ln pi 0.18615 0 0.18615 0 0.12971 0.50201

12
14

H =

Plot 4 Species Name A.dimorphum A.uligonosom E. longituba E. velutina P. albiflora

Total

No. of Individuals 0 0 0 7

1
8

Relative density (pi) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.87 0.13 1

ln(pi) 0 0 0 -0.140 -2.040

H =

-pi*ln pi 0 0 0 0.12116 0.26523 0.38639

Group Members: From front; Saidah, Thien, Leung Man Tin, Syarifah Norzi and Nurhikmah From back; Maria, Chong and Goh