Vegetation structure of sapling plant at Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park Balloci Resort South Sulawesi

Abstract

Tropical rainforests are dwindling so that the protected areas of the tropics are very important. Sapling plants as part of the undergrowth plants are an inseparable part of the forest ecosystem and play an important role in the sustainability of the forests, including forests in the tropics. We examine the structure and composition of sapling plants in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park, Balloci resort, in two areas, which are Bukit Batu Putih and Gunung Bulusaraung. This national park is one of the protected areas in Province of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Species with the highest importance value index in Bukit Batu Putih are Tabernaemontana sphaerocarpa, Homalium guianense, Micromelum minutum, Lepiniopsis ternatensis and Melicope lunu-ankenda with a total of 191.84%, while the lowest are Planchonella firma, Coffea sp., Matthaea sancta, Ficus pumila and Syzygium ingens with a total of 1.58%. Species in Gunung Bulusaraung with the highest important value index are Daemonorops longipes, Actephilla excelsa, Memecylon paniculatum, Galbulimina belgraveana and Ficus gul with a total of 126.31%, while the lowest are Arenga pinnata, Pterospermum celebicum, Ficus ampelas, Antidesma bunius and Cyathea contaminans with a total of 2.68%. The value of Shannon-wiener diversity, Simpson’s diversity index, species richness, Pielou’s evenness index, and Rarefaction in Bukit Batu Putih is lower than that of Gunung Bulusaraung and only Simpson’s dominance index is higher indicating of lower species diversity in Bukit Putih area. The value of similarity index between Bukit Batu Putih and Gunung Bulusaraung is 23.71% indicating that these two areas have a high difference in the structure and composition of sapling plant vegetation.