Kerinci Seblat National Park (KSNP) as a conservation area posses a strategic role as a source of medicinal plants. This research on the potential of medicinal plants as one of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the MADAPI Forest in Rejang Lebong Region of KNSP, in Bengkulu Province, aimed to determine the species richness, abundance, and spatial distribution of medicinal plants in the forest. This research is important to find out the potential of KSNP in providing medicinal plants. Sampling of plants was conducted in 80 plots, each measuring 20x20m in four sections of MADAPI Forest. From 80 plots, 33 species of medicinal plants were found, representing 27 families. Mostly the plants were herbs and the most dominant families found in the sites were Asteraceae and Moraceae. Based on its relative abundance, all of medicinal plant species were categorized as rare with clumped distribution; only a few species were spread randomly or uniformly.

Soil is a fundamental element of a forest ecosystem. It provides physical support for plants, absorbs and retains water, retains and supplies essential nutrients and other chemical compounds for plant growth, and provides nutrients cycling services and habitats for organisms. Soils underlying tropical rainforest ecosystems have distintive characteristics. The soils are old and highly-weathered and leached, highly-acidic, lacking of weatherable minerals and nutrient reserves, and dominated by low-activity clays with poor retention capacity to nutrients. Under such conditions, rainforest productivity relies heavily on the top layer of the soils, consisting of decaying plant materials and animal remains in which most biological activities such as nutrient cycling occur. These characteristics indicate that rainforest ecosystem is very fragile. When the forest trees overlying such soils are cut down, the logged over areas lose this thick layer and then the forest will seriously degrade. Therefore maintaining vegetation on soil surface is imperative. This paper aims to discuss properties of soils in the tropical rainforests, to identify soil-related damages due to silvicultural practices, and to find preventive and currative actions in order to promote sustainable tropical rainforest management.

Revegetation is an important part of reclamation activities of mined land, partly due to potential CO 2 absorption from the atmosphere, particularly through photosynthetic reactions. This research was aimed to calculate the amount of C absorbed by two major fast growing legume species in most reclaimed mined lands in Indonesia, mangium (Acacia mangium) and albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria) at four years of age. Three tree samples of each species were destructively taken from the reclaimed mined land belong to PT Bukit Asam (PERSERO) Tbk, Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra to obtain plant biomass production of both above and below ground. The above ground plant biomass was separated into leaf, branches & twigs, and stem. All these components and the below ground biomass (roots) were then weighed for fresh weight determination. About 200 g of these tree components were dried in an oven at 70 o C to obtain their dry weights, and then ground into 60 mesh diameter for C analysis using wet destruction method of Walkley and Black. The results showed that up to the fourth year, mangium sequestered C almost double of that sequestered by sengon stands, 21.66 and 10.35 kg C/tree respectively. ABSTRAKRevegetasi merupakan tahapan penting dalam reklamasi lahan pascatambang, antara lain karena tanamannya berpotensi menjadi penyimpan CO 2 melalui aktivitas fotosintesis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menghitung jumlah C yang diserap oleh tanaman mangium (Acacia mangium) dan sengon (Paraserianthes falcataria), dua jenis tanaman yang paling banyak digunakan untuk revegetasi lahan pascatambang di Indonesia yang sudah berumur empat tahun. Tiga pohon sampel tanaman mangium dan sengon diambil secara destruktif dari lahan pascatambang di lokasi PT Bukit Asam (PERSERO) Tbk, Tanjung Enim, Sumatera Selatan untuk memperoleh produksi biomasa tanaman total di atas dan di bawah tanah. Biomassa di atas tanah dipisahkan menjadi daun, cabang & ranting, dan batang. Seluruh biomassa tananaman bagian atas dan bagian bawah tanah (akar), kemudian ditimbang untuk mendapatkan bobot biomassa segar. Setelah itu dari masing-maisng biomasa segar diambil sekitar 200 g untuk dikeringkan dalam oven pada 70 o C untuk mendapatkan berat kering tanaman. Biomassa yang sudah kering kemudian dihaluskan menjadi ukuran 60 mesh untuk analisis C dengan menggunakan metode Walkley and Black. Data menunjukkan bahwa sampai umur 4 tahun, tanaman mangium menyerap C dua kali lebih tinggi daripada sengon, masing-masing 21,66 kg C/pohon dan 10,35 kg C/pohon.

Residential areas have the potential to conserve economically and ecologically important local tree species. However, local species to be planted in residential areas, including business and office districts, have to meet certain criteria in accordance mainly with the significant tree functions and services. This study was aimed at investigating the potential of Kayu bawang (Azadirachta excelsa) based on the desired characteristics for urban trees. The analysis of tree characteristics was based on their morphometrics which has been conducted in two planting systems, namely monoculture and polyculture, found on the private forests in Bengkulu Province. The two planting systems of Kayu bawang were reflected in the target location (e.g., roadside, park, and yard). Variables used for assessment included total height, the diameter of breast height, clear stem height, live crown height, the diameter of the crown, live crown ratio, crown projection area, and slenderness ratio. The results showed that the tree crown architecture is classified as decurrent, while the average live crown ratio (LCR) was moderate, which had an average live crown ratio (LCR) of 51-64 %, meaning not too dense appearance. The average slenderness ratio (SR) is generally moderate, where SR of Kayu bawang in monoculture system was 76, polyculture was 54 to 81. It can be concluded that this species does not really meet the criteria as urban trees on roadside because they have moderate LCR and SR values, but they can be used to enrich parks and other sites for promoting local tree identity.

Amorphophallus titanum (Becc.) Becc. Ex Arcang), known as Titan Arum, is the only plant that has the highest inflorescence (1.6 m – 2.5 m) in the world. This species is classified as an endemic plant since it only found in forest areas on the island of Sumatra. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants the 2021 edition, A. titanum is Endangered (EN). The problem faced by A. titanum at this time is the habitat destruction, due to area conversion. The research on the ecological aspects of A. titanum includes population conditions, plant structure and composition, distribution patterns, soil, and climate data. was conducted in the Boven Lais Protected Forest, North Bengkulu Regency, Bengkulu Province. The vegetation analysis method were used to obtain data on the plant structure and composition of the vegetation (importance index) of A. titanum, and the habitat's abiotic (physical conditions). Determining the plant's distribution (spatial distribution) using the Morisita Spread Index method. The results showed that the population of A. titanum in the research area was 20 individuals, dominated by tillers with petiole diameters ranging from 0-5 cm. The entire population was found in the vegetative phase. The distribution pattern of A. titanum was clustered. The structure and composition of the vegetation in the A titanum habitat comprises 25 species belonging to 18 families. The tree-level vegetation was dominated by Elateriospermum tapos, the pole level was dominated by Ficus hispida L.f., and the seedling-level vegetation was dominated by Selaginella plana (Desv. ex Poir.) The soil type in the A. titanum habitat was red-yellow podzolic with sandy clay loam texture, acid soil with a pH of 4.79, medium N (nitrogen) content (0.33%), high C (carbon) content (3.7%) and very low P (phosphorus) content and high CEC.. The habitat was at an altitude of 433 m asl -459 m above sea level, with a slope of 45-60 degrees. Generally, the location where the A. titanum grew twas in a steep area. The average humidity in the habitat was 92.87%, the average light intensity was 647.19 lux, and the average temperature was 23.09oC