Inventory of native and mother trees in Key Biodiversity Areas of Cebu Island, Philippines for species selection in local reforestation programs

Abstract

Abstract. Lillo EP, Malaki AB, Alcazar SMT, Rosales R, Redoblado BR, Diaz JLB, Pantinople EM, Buot Jr. IE. 2021. Inventory of native and mother trees in Key Biodiversity Areas of Cebu Island, Philippines for species selection in local reforestation programs. Biodiversitas 22: 4740-4749. Forest restoration is the counterforce of deforestation and forest degradation. Yet, despite promoting natural recovery after forest harvest, afforestation and reforestation efforts, tropical forest ecosystems still experience a poor ratio of forest loss to forest gain. The study assessed the native tree species and potential mother trees in different Cebu Island Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) as well as their distribution and habitat preferences which can be used in local reforestation programs. A vegetation survey was conducted in three KBAs in Cebu Island, namely Nug-as forest, Mount Lantoy and Mount Capayas to inventory all native species. Assessment based on the phenotypic characteristics of adult trees was also conducted for indicating mother trees. This study in Cebu Island KBAs recorded a total of 292 species, categorized into 125 families and 203 genera, which can be classified into native trees (210), vines and lianas (18), shrub (37), and herbs (27). Out of the 292 species, 214 were recorded in Nug-as forest, 172 in Mount Lantoy, and 145 in Mount Capayas. Of the 210 native tree species, Nug-as forest had 145 species, Mount Lantoy 131 species, and Mount Capayas 109 species. A total of 241 mother trees were identified in the three KBAs, corresponding to 77 species in which Nug-as forest had 143 trees correspond to 52 species, Mount Lantoy had 68 trees correspond to 29 species, and Mount Capayas had 31 trees correspond to 6 species. Such native tree species are recommended for reforestation programs as planting materials that could reduce the risks of failure due to its high adaptability to the environment.

Morphological characterization and seed production of Moringa oleifera Lam. mother tree in North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara

“…Using mother trees can reduce the risk of failure because they have high adaptability to the environment. In addition, ecologically, it can benefit local communities [15].…”

Some threatened woody plant species recorded from forests over limestone of the Philippines

“…Other forests over limestone were cited in available literature and included in the analysis (Figure 2). These are Cantipla forest (Cadiz & Buot 2009) and Mount Tabunan (Cadiz & Buot 2010) of Cebu City, Mount Lantoy of southern Cebu (Lillo et al 2019(Lillo et al , 2020(Lillo et al , 2021, and the coastal landscapes and seascapes of the Verde Island Passage, Batangas, southern Luzon (Caringal et al 2019(Caringal et al , 2021.…”

“…Besides fieldwork using standard vegetation techniques in Samar Island, extensive literature review was conducted, on papers related to forests over limestone in the Philippines. These include papers about the Cantipla forest, Cebu (Cadiz & Buot 2009), Mount Tabunan, Cebu (Cadiz & Buot 2010), Mount Lantoy, Cebu (Lillo et al 2019(Lillo et al , 2020(Lillo et al , 2021, Verde Island Passage, Batangas (Caringal et al 2021) and Basey, Samar (Villanueva et al 2021b).…”

“…Karst forests in the Philippines harbor rich biodiversity, but some are also threatened due to human pressures. These include Mount Lantoy in Cebu Island, one of the 117 terrestrial areas designated as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) based on vulnerability and irreplaceability criteria (Lillo et al 2019(Lillo et al , 2020(Lillo et al , 2021. The area has two Critically Endangered, two Endangered, four Vulnerable, and 16 restricted-range species (CI/DENR-PAWB/Haribon 2006).…”

“…The island of Samar, where SINP and GMRPLS are located, has been subjected to anthropogenic pressures such as timber cutting due to extensive logging, rattan extraction, and kaingin extraction (clearing of land through slash-and-burn agriculture) (Fernandez et al 2020;Obeña et al 2021;Villanueva et al 2021a). Mount Cantipla (Cadiz & Buot 2009), Mount Tabunan (Cadiz & Buot 2010), Mount Lantoy (Lillo et al 2019(Lillo et al , 2021 forest in Cebu and Verde Island Passage in Batangas (Caringal et al 2021) have been harmed by illegal logging and land use change activities. This is indeed true as also reported in several studies (Dirzo & Raven 2003;Rodrigues et al 2006;Wright 2010;Croteau & Mott 2011).…”