An undescribed lowland natural forest at Bodogol, Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, Cibodas Biosphere Reserve, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

An analysis of the structure and floristic composition of trees with diameters at breast height ? 10 cm in a one- hectare plot in a lowland natural forest at the elevation of 800 m at Bodogol, the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, Cibodas Biosphere Reserve, recorded 70 spesies and 30 families with a density of 350 trees/hectare and a total basal area of 23.36 m2. As high as 37 tree spesies (52.86 %) were not recorded in the flora of Mt.Gede Pangrango; they were species of upper lowland forest and dominated the plot. Among 10 main species, only Altingia excelsa and Ficus ribes are montane forest species. Thus the forest plot represents a transition between lowland forest and lower montane forest, which may be called an upper lowland forest. This is a new phenomenon which has not been recorded previ- ously at the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. The most prominent species with Importance Value (VI) > 10 % are Schima wallichii, Pternandra caerulescens, Neesia altissima, Luvunga sarmentosa and Maesopsis eminii; the latter is an exotic species invading the natural forest. Dipterocarpus hasseltii is present in the area.