Comparison of plant diversity between native and non-native tree plantations in the La Mesa Nature Reserve.

Abstract

The La Mesa Nature Reserve (LMNR) has been a site of reforestation projects over the years. Reforestation stands in the area includes plantation of mixed and monoculture of either native or non-native trees. Monoculture native tree plantation has been observed to harbor the same diversity as the nearby primary forest (Lima and Vieira, 2013). To investigate the plant diversity between monoculture native and non-native tree plantations in LMNR, a vegetation survey was conducted in Narra and Mahogany plantations. Plots were established in each plantation and the list of trees and understory plants found in Narra and Mahogany plantations were recorded. The importance values and diversity indices such as Simpson’s index (1-D), Shannon-Wiener index (H), and Fisher’s alpha Diversity index were computed to describe the diversity in the plots. The diversity indices between two plantations were then computed using t-test. The result showed that the diversity values of Narra and Mahogany plantations are similar. However, results also showed that each plantation has unique floristic compositions. The Narra plantation contains more native fleshy fruit-bearing tree species than the Mahogany plantation. It could have attracted dispersal agents such as birds or bats which play an important role in forest regeneration. Furthermore, the Narra plantation acquired a higher number of unique native tree species compared to the Mahogany plantation.