Biliran's Mangroves: Diversity and Conservation Status | InformativeBD

Litlen P. Dapar, Romel Quinte, Ma Opelia M. Moreno, Melanie P. Moncada, and Florante P. Sabejon, from the different institute of the Philippines. wrote a research article about, Biliran's Mangroves: Diversity and Conservation Status. entitled, Diversity, distribution and conservation status of mangrove species in the Municipality of Biliran, Biliran Island, Philippines. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity, under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

We determined the diversity of mangrove species and their conservation status in the municipality of Biliran to serve as baseline for conservation and protection of mangal ecosystems in the island. Thirty-two quadrats with a size of 10×10 m were established and each mangrove tree inside the plots was identified. The numbers of individuals per species were counted and diversity indices were computed. Results revealed 13 mangrove species belonging to 7 families including Avicennia rumphiana, A. marina, A. alba, Rhizophora apiculata, R. stylosa, R. mucronata, Ceriops tagal, Bruguiera sp., Sonneratia alba, Exoecaria agallocha, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, Xylocarpus granatum, and Brownlowia tersa. Majority of the mangrove species belonged to Rhizophoraceae family. R. apiculata was the most abundant while B. tersa was the least abundant species. Mangroves like C. tagal, R. apiculata, and A. marina were generalist species because they were found in all of the study sites, whereas A. rumphiana, A. alba, S. hydrophyllacea, B. tersa, R. mucronata, and Bruguiera sp. were specialist because they were only found in 1 study site. A. rumphiana was the only mangrove listed as Vulnerable (VU) based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The mean values of the following indices were obtained: H’= 1.1984, DMn= 0.7124, J= 0.6877 and D= 0.3877. Mangrove diversity in Biliran municipality was very low with a highly even distribution of species and uniform distribution of individuals. Since mangal ecosystems in the municipality of Biliran are facing natural and anthropogenic disturbances, the local government unit should prioritize mangrove forest conservation and rehabilitation. 

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Introduction

Mangroves ecosystems are mostly composed of halophytic tree and shrub species that are regularly expose to fluctuations in water level, hydrodynamic energy, salinity, nutrient availability, and anoxia (Friess, 2016). Despite thriving in a dynamic and physiologically stressful location, a plethora of coastal and terrestrial fauna are associated with this vegetation including fish, crustaceans, snakes and mammals. In addition to their unique biodiversity value, mangroves are largely important habitats due to some tangible provisioning ecosystem services they provide to the local coastal populations such as timber, charcoal, non-timber forest products and fish/shellfish. The United Nations Environment Programme (2014) further cited that mangrove ecosystem provides millions of people with food, clean water, raw materials and resilience against future climate change impacts including increasing storm intensity and sea level rise. For instance, when super typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, areas with mangrove forests suffered significantly less damage as the trees acted as shield from the strong winds and waves (Ranada, 2014).

Faustino et al. (2020) noted that mangrove forests in the Philippines have been continuously dwindling in terms of forest cover and diversity due to anthropogenic activities which include cutting of trees for the production of firewood, charcoal, and building materials, and residential, urban and industrial development, and conversion to agriculture (Maneja, 2006; Bitantos et al., 2017) as well as natural disturbances. In view of these challenges, it is important to conduct baseline studies to give not only a benchmark of an area’s biodiversity but a picture of its overall importance in the landscape (Flora and Fauna International, 2014). A baseline study can highlight areas of importance for biodiversity conservation, identify threats to species and habitats, and help understand how local communities use and value resources.

Fortes and Salmo (2017) cited that mangrove studies in the Philippines are initially categorized under seven topics including taxonomy, physiology, economic uses, biogeography, ecology, biodiversity, and conservation and management. However, information on species composition and diversity studies of mangroves from the different parts of the country remains limited and scarce (Baleta and Casalamitao, 2016). Recent local biodiversity studies and vegetational analysis on mangroves have been carried out in Surigao del Norte (Goloran et al., 2020), Camarines Sur (Faustino et al., 2020), Oriental Mindoro (Raganas et al., 2020), Palawan (Dangan-Galon et al., 2016), Camotes island (Lillo et al., 2022), Timaco Mangrove Swamp in Cotabato City (Cano-Mangaoang et al., 2022), Samar island (Mendoza and Alura, 2001), Zamboanga Sibugay (Bitantos et al., 2017), Pangasinan (Rosario et al., 2021), Aurora (Rotaquio et al., 2017), Cagayan Valley (Calicdan et al., 2017), Isabela (Baleta and Casalamitao, 2016), Aklan (Barrientos and Apolonio, 2017), Quezon province (Abantao et al., 2015), and Leyte island (Bobon-Carnice et al., 2021). To date, mangrove studies on the island of Biliran is not documented, particularly in the municipality of Biliran where a large portion of mangrove forest in the village of Sangalang became a wasteland when many mangrove trees and associated species died during the onslaught of tropical depression (TD) Urduja in 2017. Thus, this study was conducted to gather scientific-based data that can serve as a baseline in determining the diversity and conservation status of mangrove species based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Such baseline can be used in prioritizing areas for conservation and protection of mangal ecosystems in the island, especially with the ongoing threats of both anthropogenic and natural disturbances.

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Source : Diversity, distribution and conservation status of mangrove species in the Municipality of Biliran,Biliran Island, Philippines