Diversity, vegetation analysis and RCE inventory employed in assessing riverine channel of Malapatan, Sarangani Province, Philippines

摘要

Vegetation assemblage and distribution was assessed through plot-nested method acrossriparian habitat in Brgy. Lun Padidu, Malapatan, Sarangani, Philippines. A total of 1331 individuals wererecorded and were classified into 56 genera and 61 species. Of the total species sampled, 79% (49) wereshrubs/herbs. However, the most abundant species are grasses suggesting that riparian vegetation in thechosen study site was mainly made of grassland community. Cyperus brevifolius (pugo-pugo) was foundto have the highest Importance Value (IV = 26.09%) followed by Eleusine indica (IV = 10.43%) andSterculia sp. (IV = 8.78%). Most species sampled were Least Concerned (LC) or Not Evaluated (NE)according to IUCN 2013. However, the presence of two invasive species - Chromoelana indica (hagonoy)and Saccharum spontaneum (talahib) may potentially disrupt the native flora in the study area. Diversityindex indicates that area 2 is the most diverse however Evenness (E) values show that area 3 being leastdiverse, has the highest evenness value (E = 0.65). As a whole, Riparian, Channel and Environmental(RCE) inventory values show that the river is in good condition (mean RCE = 154). Mean RCE valuefurther indicated that Lun Padidu river was Class III stream. This classification of the stream wassupported by the presence of only few tree stand and shrubs and the dominance of grass species.Key Words: diversity index, importance value, riparian, invasive species, plot-nested method.