SPECIES DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF BEACH FOREST

IN SAN FERNANDO, SAN JOSE, ANTIQUE

An Action Research
Presented to
the Faculty of the Graduate School
University of Antique
Sibalom, Antique

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
Master in Education Major in Biological Science

by

Anadel D. Magbanua
Jemelyn B. Rubite
Delia T. Jaro
Lynn A. Siruelo
Angela A. Padojinog
 I. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study

A beach forest is a narrow strip of woodland composed of littoral creepers,

shrubs and trees located above the high tide level. It forms an impenetrable

thicket referred as “ Beach Jungle”. It is also a great significance and carries

unique traits unlike any other ecosystems. Despite, often being overlooked due

to its lack of economically significant plant species, in terms of ecology, beach

forests are considerably valuable.

Mangroves and beach forests are important ecosystems that inhabit the

transitional boundary between marine, fresh water and terrestrial habitats

ranging from the tropical to subtropical coastline. They are uniquely adapted to

these environments and provide a range of ecosystem services through coastal

protection, enhancement of fishery resources and provide alternative livelihood

to millions of people. The importance of vulnerability of these ecosystems is

recognized by international and local governments emphasizing on protecting

and conserving mangroves and beach forests biodiversity.

Currently, most beach forest have been destroyed and developed for

tourism, so that the original states of these forests have been erased.

Additionally, misconception are still present and people have planted introduce

species such as coconut and ornamental palm trees in place of the indigenous

for aesthetic purposes. Such actions grammatically alter the beach forest

ecosystem. It is necessary to have environmental protection strategies to

preserve this kind of forest to maintain the balance of the ecosystem and to
mitigate the adverse effect of climate change

In Antique, beach forests are given very little and even no attention at all.

Along with the destruction due to natural and man-made destruction, the

beach forest in the province faces a greater threat due to the construction of

coastal concrete barriers and parks. Thus, the students of University of

Antique under the program of Masters of Art in Education Major in Biological

Science initiated this activity to assess the current situation of beach forests in

the province of Antique and establish a basis for actions and intervention to

protect these remaining few areas.

Objectives of the Study

A. General Objective:

1. To describe beach forest community structure qualitatively and

quantitatively in a given area;

B. Specific Objectives:

1. To identify and classify beach forest species present in the area;

 II. METHODOLOGY

San Fernando is a barangay in the municipality of San Jose de Buenavista ,

province of Antique Western Visayas. It is situated at approximately 10.7751 N,

121.9450 E in the island of Panay. Elevation at these coordinates is estimated

at 17.1 meters above mean sea level.

The study followed the sequence of activities described below:

Scoping. Secondary information related to beach forest survey was done

through scoping. It is a thorough procedure that involves literature survey,

information gathering, and mapping the location and procuring the spot map of

coastal of barangay San Fernando.

Ocular Survey. To verify the data collected from scoping, an ocular survey of

the sites was conducted. This involved survey of barangay coastal of barangay

San Fernando to determine actual location and stand of coastal. The main

goals of ocular survey were species identification, coverage of beach forest and

selecting the area for establishment of transects.

Analysis of Community Structure

1. Selection of sites and establishment of sampling sites

Gathering of data was conducted on December 7, 2019. Sampling plots were

established which measured 100 square meters located in the area of Barangay

San Fernando, San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. The 100 square meter area is

an area covered with soil where trees, shrubs, and sapling are inhabit.

Purposive sampling design using a transect and sub-plots. Transect line were

established on area with dense beach forest species to represent the general

area. The researchers used the transect line plots method in assessing selected

sites. Transects established were 100 m in length with 10 m x 10 m plots. This

method employed a detailed, scientific and qualitative characterization of beach

forest species where estimates of abundance, density, basal area, and seedling

and sapling of every species were counted.

Permission to collect plant specimen was secured from the Barangay Captain of

Barangay San Fernando.

2. Identification of Species

Beach forests species were identified using the field guide, Beach Forest

Species and Mangrove Associates in the Philippines, by Primavera and Sadaba

(2012). Each species was described down to the species level. Species were

identified from their scientific names, English names, local names, their
habitat, leaves, flower, fruits, root systems, and utilization. All species were

photographed for verification, identification and documentation.

3. Measurement of GBH

Girth at breast height (GHB) was determined using the technique prescribed

by English et al. (1994). This was done using a tape measure and in

centimeters. The measurement of the GBH was taken at 1.3 meters above the

ground. For some trees that have irregular shape and growth forms, the

following procedures were used:

 When a stem forks below breast height, or sprouts from a single base close

to the ground or above, each branch was measured as a separate stem.

 When the stem forks at breast height or slightly above it, the girth at breast

height or below the swelling caused by the fork was measured.

 When the stem has prop roots or fluted lower trunk, girth was measured 20

cm above the root collar.

 When the stem has swelling, branches or abnormalities at the point of

measurement, the girth was measured slightly above or below the

irregularity.

4. Measurement of the Height

Tree height was estimated in meters from the substrate to the canopy of

each true wood trees species in every plot.

5. Analysis of Data

Beach forest community structure was calculated using the formulas

adopted from English et.al. (1994) and Odum and Barret (2005).

Aboveground biomass and carbon stock were determined from the formulas

of Banaticla et. al. (2007) and Lasco and Pulhin (2000). Microsoft Excel

program was used to facilitate computations using the following forumula:

a. Basal Area

BA=πDBH2 (cm2)

b. Stand Basal Area

Stand BA= ΣBA (m2ha2)

Area of the plot

c. Stems per Hectare

Stems/ha = number of stems per plot x 10,000

Area of the plot

d. Relative Density

Relative Density = No. of individuals of species__ x 100

Total number of individuals (all species)

e. Frequency
 Frequency = number of plots were species occur x100

Total number of plots

f. Relative Dominance

Relative Dominance = Total BA of species x 100

BA of all species

g. Importance value

Imp. Value = (Rel. density) + (Rel. Frequency) + (Rel. Dominance)

h. Shannon Index of Diversity

H’ = -Σ (Ni) log (Ni)

i=1 N N

where:

Ni = importance value of species I

N = sum of importance values for all species

Or

N = Ni

i=1

where: s = total # of species in the sample

 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Floristic diversity

Frequency of occurrence of species across sites

In terms of frequency of occurrence of beach forest species across sites, the

researchers listed five (5) plant species namely: Jatropha gossypifolia,

Tabernaemontana pandacaqui, Diospyros maritima, Sterculia foetida, Jatropha

curcas. Based on the result in table 1 Tabernaemontana pandacaqui has 100%

frequency of occurrence across sites and Sterculia foetida and Jatropha

gossypifolia has only 33% frequency of occurrence across sites. The result showed

that Tabernaemontana pandacaqui has the most number of occurrence of species

across site while Sterculia foetida and Jatropha gossypifolia has the least of

occurrence.

Stand Basal Area (SBA)

The sampling area of beach forest in San Fernando had a total SBA of 2.85

m2ha-1. Sterculia foetida (2.51 m2ha-1) was recorded with the largest SBA

attributed and large mean DBH (24.796282 cm). Meanwhile, Jatropha

gossypifolia (0.00 m2ha-1) recorded the lowest SBA which can also be attributed to

its number of saplings (only found inside the plot 1) and its small mean DBH

(1.1777438 cm).
 Importance value

Importance value shows the influence of a plant species in a community

(Brower et al., 1990). Among the species listed, the high importance value gained

by Tabernaemontana pandacaqui (IV =125.59) (Table 1) is attributed to its ability

to be dispersed easily and high chance to survive in sandy areas and become the

front liner species on beaches.

Table 1. Structural characteristics ofBeach Forest in

San Fernando. December 2019

Stems Tree Sapling Seedling Relative Relative Relative Imp. Species

BA SBA J'
per Ha density density density Dom. Freq. Den. Value Diversity
Species
(m2
(cm2m-2) (n ha-1) (n ha-1) (n ha-1) (n ha-1) (%) (%) (%) (Iv) H'
ha-1)

Jatropha
1.09 0.00 900.00 22500.00 900.00 0.00 0.095485278 33.33 42.35294 75.78 0.10008 0.143182
gossypifolia

Tabernaemontana
10.06 0.03 525.00 13125.00 525.00 0.00 0.88196595 100 24.70588 125.59 0.148601 0.2125998
pandacaqui

Diospyros
11.23 0.03 125.00 3125.00 125.00 0.00 0.984426049 66.67 5.88 73.53 0.108932 0.1558457
maritima

Sterculia foetida 1003.96 2.51 25.00 625.00 0.00 0.00 87.99533856 33.33 1.18 122.50 0.149706 0.2141806

Jatropha curcas 114.5804 0.29 550.00 13750.00 250.00 0.00 10.04278417 66.66667 25.88235 102.59 0.122992 0.1759616

Total 1140.92 2.85 2125.00 53125.00 1800.00 0.00 100.00 299.99 100.00 499.99 0.63 0.9017697
 IV. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS

In the study site of beach forest in San Fernando, the researchers identified

and recorded five species. This low plant diversity could be due to

anthropogenic disturbances such as conversion into residential and resorts

areas, fuel/charcoal production, garbage disposal site, among others.

Tabernaemontana pandacaqui were the most frequently occurring species

reflecting their true nature as a native beach species and supported by all

ecological indicators measured in this study.

Further studies on the beach forests in the province or in the country should

be conducted to generate more data for better analysis and management of

these sensitive habitats. It is recommended that the municipality be actively

engaged formulating sound scientific management plans for restoration,

rehabilitation, conversation and protection of remaining beach forests in San

Fernando.
 V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to thank Miss May M. Sansait and Mr.

Resurreccion B. Sadaba for imparting their expertise and knowledge in beach

forest community. We also thank the University of Antique for allowing us to

conduct our research and the Barangay Captain and Officials for the

assistance in the field surveys.