How land fire impacts mammal diversity after several years: A study in Waimusi Agroindah Oil Palm Plantation, South Sumatra

Abstract

Forest and land fire are one of the global disaster that raging every year. Most of the time, fire from concession and oil palm plantation area are accused to be the main factor that caused degradation of natural habitat and the biodiversity, including mammals. Mammals have important roles in sustaining a balanced ecosystem. However, the study of the impacts and mammals response to forest and land fires is yet to be fathomed. To provide more understanding in the impacts of fire on mammals a study was conducted at Waimusi Agroindah Oil Palm Plantation, South Sumatera, in two different periods, which are two years and four years after the fire to identify and comparing the diversity of mammal species. The data was collected with strip transect method, parallel in post-burned area and in unburned area with total four repetitions in each areas. The estimation of the impact is obtained by calculating the loss and gain of mammals from the unburned area and post-burned area, the level of species richness, evenness, also the similarity. Result shows that two years after fire, the habitat are already recovering, the number of species, species richness and evenness index was increased 2, 0.19, and 0.1. There was one species lost and two species gained. In the time of four years after the fire, opposite was resulted, all the parameters were decreased, species number decreased one species, richness and evenness number each decreased 0.42 and 0.32 and there was one species lost, but no species gained. This study indicates that land fire impacted mammal diversity, not only caused a degradation, but also an increase on the diversity.