Background: Swine is a very important commodity that contributed to the country’s food security by providing about 60% of the total animal meat consumption of the Filipinos. Feeds comprise a major expense in swine production and searching for possibly better and cheaper alternatives is urgent to have high quality but economical animal feeding.Methods: The study aimed to evaluate the growth performance of grower pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus L.), nutritional and microbial contents of wet and fermented commercial ration with different levels of wood vinegar as follows: T0: 0% wood vinegar (WV) per liter Plain water (PW) (3000 mL PW) (control), T1: 2% WV per liter PW (60 mL WV: 2940 mL PW), T2: 5% WV per liter PW (150 mL WV: 2850 mL PW). Data gathered were analyzed using ANOVA and LSD to compare treatment means by STAR version 2.0.1.Result: A significantly higher (p less than 0.05) bi-weekly cumulative feed intake (BWCFI) and bi-weekly cumulative body weight gain (BWCBWG) were noted on grower pigs given wet and fermented commercial hog ration with different levels of WV during week 4 and no significant differences during weeks 2, 6 and 8. No significant differences were noted on ADG and FCR throughout the study. A significantly higher profit was noted on grower-pigs given wet and fermented commercial hog ration 5% WV inclusion. Moreover, no differences in microbial and nutritional contents were noted on fermented feeds. Regardless of treatments, the wet and fermented commercial hog ration revealed the same microbial content present to enumerate as follows: Yeast, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus.

Peatlands are unique wetland ecosystems that provide various ecosystem services such as carbon storage and biogeochemical cycling, however being threatened by anthropogenic activities. The present study was conducted to explore the impact of land use conversion on carbon stocks and peat properties in a tropical peatland in the Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland (LSBP) in Northeastern Leyte, Philippines. The carbon stocks (aboveground and belowground) and physico-chemical properties of peat soil were compared among wetland forest, grassland and cropland. Land use conversion resulted in the signi cant reduction of the total aboveground carbon stock. The wetland forest had the highest carbon stocks (38.56 ± 4.58 t ha − 1 ), and when converted to grassland and cropland, it has resulted to carbon loss of as much as 86.59 and 90.45%, respectively. The belowground root carbon stock was highest in the wetland forest (5.05 ± 0.64 t ha − 1 ) also while highest peat carbon stock (1 m depth) was observed in the cropland areas (45.28 ± 2.25-61.27 ± 3.07 t ha − 1 ). However, wetland forests with very deep peat deposits potentially store a signi cant amount of carbon than in cropland that was characterized by shallower compressed peats. In addition, land use conversion altered the physico-chemical properties of peat such as water content, organic matter, and porosity, and bulk density which all indicated peatland degradation.Finally, the overall result of this study highlights the importance to develop and implement management and conservation plans for LSBP.

Peatlands are unique wetland ecosystems that provide various ecosystem services such as carbon storage and biogeochemical cycling, however being threatened by anthropogenic activities. The present study was conducted to explore the impact of land use conversion on carbon stocks and peat properties in a tropical peatland in the Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland (LSBP) in Northeastern Leyte, Philippines. The carbon stocks (aboveground and belowground) and physico-chemical properties of peat soil were compared among wetland forest, grassland and cropland. Land use conversion resulted in the significant reduction of the total aboveground carbon stock. The wetland forest had the highest carbon stocks (38.56 ± 4.58 t ha− 1), and when converted to grassland and cropland, it has resulted to carbon loss of as much as 86.59 and 90.45%, respectively. The belowground root carbon stock was highest in the wetland forest (5.05 ± 0.64 t ha− 1) also while highest peat carbon stock (1 m depth) was observed in the cropland areas (45.28 ± 2.25–61.27 ± 3.07 t ha− 1). However, wetland forests with very deep peat deposits potentially store a significant amount of carbon than in cropland that was characterized by shallower compressed peats. In addition, land use conversion altered the physico-chemical properties of peat such as water content, organic matter, and porosity, and bulk density which all indicated peatland degradation. Finally, the overall result of this study highlights the importance to develop and implement management and conservation plans for LSBP.

The paper presents a detailed ecological investigation of mangroves (trees and palm) along Carigara Bay in Leyte, Philippines by comparing the diversity, vegetation structure, species composition, and indicator species among forest types (riverine and fringe) and zones (landward, middleward, and seaward/along water) as well as by examining their relationships with environmental variables. A total of 22 mangrove species, belonging to 12 families were documented wherein the most abundant was Sonneratia alba, followed by Nypa fruticans, then by Avicennia rumphiana. It was found that the diversity (Shannon-Wiener) of riverine mangroves (0.94 ± 0.07; 1.20 ± 0.04) was significantly higher than the fringe for both in the middleward and seaward/along the water. In the fringe mangrove forests, the mangrove species Aegiceras corniculatum was associated with the middleward zone, and Camptostemon philippinensis, Aegiceras floridum, Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia alba, and Lumnitzera littorea were associated with the seaward zone, whereas landward zone of fringe and all the zones in riverine were generally associated by species with low to optimum salt tolerances such as Nypa fruticans, and Avicennia rumphiana as the most abundant. As well, a total of 14 mangroves have been identified as indicator species. Lastly, mangrove species can be generally classified as riverine and fringing based on the environmental factors explaining their distributions, and it has been found that soil porosity, water content, soil salinity, and distance from the sea or river’s edge were the most significant environmental factors that determine diversity patterns.

Mangrove forest ecosystems are known to sequester large quantities of carbon in biomass. This paper presents a quantification of carbon stocks in aboveground (standing trees, palm, shrub, standing dead trees, downed wood, and litter), belowground (root), and total carbon stocks, and further compared between forest types (fringe and riverine) and zones (landward, middleward, and seaward/along water) of mangrove forests along the Carigara Bay in Leyte, Philippines. The aboveground carbon stocks for the standing trees were found to be higher in riverine (297.94 ± 58.39) compared to fringe mangrove forests (188.92 ± 18.51), with an overall average of 243.43 ± 31.09 Mg ha− 1. Shrub mangroves were found to be the second most contributor to aboveground carbon stocks which was significantly higher in middleward zone (14.88 ± 6.11 Mg ha− 1), though no variation was found between mangrove forest types. Whereas, all other aboveground components were the least contributors (< 1% combined), with a total average of 0.31 ± 0.10, 0.32 ± 0.10, 1.57 ± 0.27, and 0.19 ± 0.02 Mg ha− 1 for palm (Nypa fruticans), standing dead tree, downed wood and litter, respectively. Meanwhile, no significant variations were detected for belowground (roots) carbon stock, with an average of 65.23 ± 6.84 Mg ha− 1. Total carbon stocks were higher in the riverine (380.83 ± 70.91), with an average of 317.19 ± 37.88 Mg ha− 1. Overall, the results of the study highlight the significant amount of carbon stored in the biomass of the studied mangrove forests, which indicates their potential role in climate change mitigation.