Comparison of species diversity of butterflies between burnt and unburnt land at various levels of post-burnt land age in Mount Ciremai National Park

Abstract

Forest fires occur almost every year in some locations in Indonesia, including in Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC). Different age of land due to fire is believed to affect its biodiversity including the losses and gains of butterfly species. The study aims to estimate the diversity and composition of butterfly species and estimate the loss and gain of butterflies due to fire at different levels of post-burnt land age. The study was conducted on April 1st to May 21st, 2019 at three locations of burnt land with different ages (1, 2, and 4 years post-burnt). The Pollard Transect Method was used to estimate and analyze the species number of butterflies, the Margalef richness index, species diversity index, and species evenness index. The referential habitat as the basic approach was used to determine the losses and gains of butterfly species in each land. The results showed that there were 76 species of butterflies in all land, the highest index of Margalef was found on 2-year-old of burnt land, the highest index of diversity on 1-year-old of burnt land, and index of Evenness close to 1. The highest gains of diversity due to fire was found on 4-year-old of burnt land at 84.21% while the highest losses of diversity due to fire on 2-year-old of burnt land at 45.71%. In conclusion, there are differences in species diversity, losses, and gains of butterflies at various levels of post-burnt land age in Mount Ciremai National Park.