Preliminary study on the man-made habitat of Utricularia gibba L. in the tropical peatland environment

Abstract

Utricularia gibba L. is a free-floating aquatic carnivorous plant found in some parts of the world, including Asian tropical regions. However, data on water’s physical and chemical properties for the ecology of this species in Asian tropical peatland environments are underrepresented in the literature. Here, we reported water physical and chemical properties for the habitat of U. gibba occurring in the tropical peatland of Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia. The study site is on the man-made water canal in Jalan Parit Haji Muksin II, Kubu Raya Regency, Kalimantan Barat. We measured temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrates, and nitrite of the waters at three points along the water canal where the bladderworts occur. The results showed that U. gibba inhabits waters with low conductivity (< 66 µS cm-1), low TDS (< 32 ppm), acidic (< pH 6), low DO (< 8 mg L-1), but higher total nitrogen (7.02 – 19.4 mg L-1), total phosphorus (0.86 – 1.71 mg L-1), nitrates (3.01 – 4.06 mg L-1) and nitrite (3.53 – 5.18 mg L-1). These findings demonstrate that U. gibba in tropical peatland environments reportedly occurs in acidic (pH 5.03 – 5.29) but relatively high nutrient habitats compared to its counterpart and other species found elsewhere.