Bryophytes of river valleys and kaingin areas of Mount Pangasugan, Leyte, Philippines

Abstract

Fifty one bryophyte species were collected from June to December 1991. In the undisturbed river valleys, the number of species varied from 7 to 26 while in the kaingin farms (slash and burn farming) the species number varied from 2 to 13. These data give evidence that kaingin farming is changing environmental conditions unfavorably for at least 50% of the species observed. The bryophytes' role within the ecosystem for the retention of water, the disintegration of rocks and the stabilization of substrata making them suitable for seed plant colonization is thus reduced significantly.