Abundance status of flora in Mananga-Kotkot-Lusaran Watersheds, Cebu, Philippines

Abstract

The paper describes the abundance status of forests and their species composition in the Mananga-Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed of Metro Cebu, Philippines. Data collection and analysis were undertaken according to the Braun-Blanquet (1964) methodology.

Six vegetation types, such as grassland, brushland, pioneer vegetation, young plantation, 60 year old tanguile (Shorea polysperma) plantation and old-growth forest were sampled in 69 plots. The range of occurrence of species in sampled vegetation types is discussed. The study had recorded 414 species, in 249 genera and 103 families. They included 47 species of large trees, 71 medium trees, 118 small trees, 2 straggler figs, 7 shrubs, 2 palms, 74 erect herbaceous plants, 21 woody lianas, 32 grasses, 22 ferns and 1 moss. Aerial plants were not included in the inventory.

Seven patches of natural growth remained extant in the watersheds but only one, the 40-hectare Tabunan forest patch, was big enough to have interior type forest. The other patched were only about 8 hectares or much less degraded in structure, poor in species, covered by climbing plants and pioneer trees and located either in rocky steep slope or in cliff.