Land use Type Pattern and Woody Species Composition Near Human Disturbed Landscapes on Mount Makiling, Luzon Island

Abstract

Problem statement: A field study near human disturbed landscape on Mount Makiling, Luzon Island, Philippines was done on the eastern slopes of the legendary mountain to determine the land use patterns and woody species composition. Approach: Forty permanent plots of 10×10m in 3 belt transects spaced at 200m apart were established from the undisturbed forests to the agricultural farms. Classification and ordination analysis was done. Results: Cluster analysis showed 5 land use types: the agricultural farm, forests near residences, forest edge, buffer zone and the undisturbed forests. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated moderate to strong linear correlations between environmental variables and the species data (intra set correlations for altitude = 0.420, slope = -0.879 and distance from farms = -0.913). The mean Basal Area (BA) was highest in the undisturbed forest and lowest in the buffer zone though the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed no significant difference (p>0.05). However, ANOVA indicated significant differences among mean stem density values (p<0.01) and multiple comparison using the least significant difference test (LSD), noted that the undisturbed forest had significantly lower stem density compared with the rest of the land use types (p<0.05). Conclusion/Recommendation: Current dominant species like Celtis luzonica and Diplodiscus paniculatus had replaced the original dipterocarps and were found occupying various elevational ranges not occupied before, indicating that past disturbances created habitats and niches favorable for colonization. It would be worthwhile to study the species biology of these present dominants as they play a significant role in stabilizing and sustaining the ecosystem. Results can give insights on the dynamics of forest landscape and the development of appropriate forest management strategy.