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1 Identification of dominant species of plants within the UST lover’s lane

2 Abergas,Allan Neil S., Mosquito,Raphael Willard M., Ramos,Ann Kyrstin R., Tendenilla,Sophia

3 Lorraine S.

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4 Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Santo

5 Tomas, Manila

7ABSTRACT

8 Species dominance is measured by ecologists to determine which species is most

9abundant in a particular area and how much it contributes to the community. This is measured

10using different indices such as Shannon-Weiner and Simpson’s Diversity Index. The aim of the

11study was to determine the better representative measure for species dominance between size

12and number. The researchers measured the diameter at breast height (DBH) of the trees in their

13assigned location and used the Simpson’s Diversity Index and Shannon-Weiner’s Diversity

14Index. The researchers used diversity t test to compare diversity and evenness of the species.

15Results showed that there was no significant difference between the number and size as a

16measure for species dominance.

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20Keywords: Simpson’s Diversity Index, Shannon-Weiner Index, species dominance

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24INTRODUCTION
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25 Biodiversity is measured by richness and evenness. It is a tool for estimating the

26complexity, stability and the general health of an ecosystem. Diverse communities have

27increasing stability, productivity and resistance to invasion and other substances. It also has a

28better chance in including individuals that might be able to adapt to the changes in the

29environment. Species richness is expressed as the number of genetically or functionally related

30individuals or species. The larger the sample, the more species are expected to be found.

31Species evenness is the proportions of species or functional groups that are present on a

32sample. The more equal species are in proportion to each other, the greater the evenness of the

33sample. A sample with low evenness implies that a few species dominate the sample.

34 A biodiversity index is a scale of the plant and animal species’ diversity in a sample site.

35Simpson’s Index (D) is a dominant index because it leans more on common or dominant

36species. A few rare species that has only a few representatives does not affect the diversity. It

37measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals from a sample will belong to the

38same species. 0 represents infinite diversity and 1, no diversity. As the value of D increases, the

39diversity decreases. Simpson’s diversity index (1-D) is a mathematical tool that illustrates

40species diversity in a community. The proportion of species (i) relative to the total number of

41species (pi) is calculated and squared. The squared proportions for all the species are summed

42and the reciprocal is taken.

43 Richness (S) increases when D and equitability increases. The value of this index also

44ranges between 0 and 1, but now, the greater the value, the greater the sample diversity. The

45index represents the probability that two randomly selected individuals from a sample will

46belong to different species.

47 The Shannon diversity index (H) accounts for both abundance and evenness of the

48species present. It assumes all species are represented in a random sample. The proportion of
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49species (i) relative to the total number of species (pi) is calculated, and then multiplied by the

50natural logarithm of this proportion (lnpi). The resulting product is summed across species, and

51multiplied by -1.

52 The objectives of this study are to assess tree species richness and evenness and to

53know which is a more representative measure of species dominance, is it “size” or “number”?

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55MATERIALS AND METHODS

56Materials

57 The researchers made use of a logbook to tally and record the species found on the

58right side of the Lovers Lane of UST and to record the measurements acquired. To measure the

59diameter of each tree species found on the right side of the Lovers Lane of UST a tape measure

60was used at breast height.

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62Methods

63 The sampling site the researchers were tasked to observe is located 14°36'32.12"N

64120°59'24.33"E. at the right side of UST’s Lovers Lane. The researchers were tasked to tally the

65tree species observed as well as the tree diameter breast height. The diameter breast height

66(DBH) was measured and recorded since it is used to determine tree density. From the DBH the

67age of the observed tree can also be observed. Further, the trees were classified whether it is

68exotic or native to determine the productivity of the species. The species richness and evenness

69were measured through the Simpson’s Index and Simpson’ Index of Diversity while the

70Shannon Diversity Index and Shannon’s Equitability measures the abundance and evenness.

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88RESULTS

89 There were 72 tree individuals encountered on the assigned area around University of

90Santo Tomas lover’s lane in which 13 species were identified. The most common species

91identified were Ficus sp. followed by the Cinnamomum camphora. While the least common

92species encountered were Ficus elastica, Drypetes falcata, Syzgium sp. and Vitex parviflora.

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94Figure 1: The total number of each species encountered on the assigned area.

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97Figure 2: Comparison of number of species and diameter at breast height for (a) Simpson’s

98Diversity Index (1-D) and (b) Shannon’s equitability (HE).

99Simpson’s Index of Diversity (1-D) for diameter at breast height showed a greater value which

100corresponds to greater sample diversity (Fig. 2a). Diameter at breast height also showed value

101nearer to 1 in Shannon’s Equitability Index for Evenness than the number of species which both

102correspond to 0.538504 and 0.49735 respectively (Fig. 2b). However, using diversity t-test for

103Simpson’s Index of Diversity and Shannon’s Equitability Index for both number of species and

104diameter at breast height yielded the p-value of 0.12669 and 0.13553 respectively, which means

105there is no significant difference between the number of species and diameter at breast height.

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107DISCUSSION

108 According to Rodriguez (2013), biomass refers to the mass of biological organisms

109measured in an ecosystem at a given time. It can further be classified into species biomass,

110which refers to the total mass of one or more species, or community biomass, which refers to

111the total mass of all the species within a community. All of which can be utilized to determine

112species dominance in a particular area.

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114 In addition, according to Chapin et.al (1997), the aboveground biomass productivity

115(AGBP) of the world’s forests which provide key ecosystem services to human well-being is

116mainly affected by vegetation quantity.

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120Vegetation quantity is also affected by the aboveground biomass, tree density and leaf area
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121(Paquette and Messier 2011; Reich 2012; Prado-Junior et al. 2016). In line with this, Grime

122(1998) states that the mass-ratio hypothesis points out that the degree to how much a particular

123species affects the ecosystem is proportional to its contribution to plant biomass. The results of

124their test showed that vegetation quantity and species dominance with greater plant height and

125a conservative strategy to use carbon were factors that were pivotal drivers for productivity.

126However, Wohlgemuth et.al (2016) stated otherwise due to changes in species behavior,

127density, and more.

128 Native species of plants are more adapted to the environment where they thrive. These

129include soil conditions and local climate. In comparison, exotic species of plants do not provide

130energetic rewards to its visitors and require insect pest control for survival. Several reasons why

131cultivating native species of plants are due to the fact that they do not require fertilizers because

132they are naturally occuring around the local area. They are also the perfect promoters of

133biodiversity in comparison to exotic species of plants (United States Department of Agriculture,

134n.d.).

135 According to Jacob Hill (n.d.), one of the most significant negative effects planting

136invasive species of plants is that animals will lose their habitat, ultimately suffering the

137consequences of extinction. According to Wagner (2018), invasive species of plants can also

138overrun native plant communities, which may then get rid of the native plants. This in turn would

139affect the herbivores that eat it, causing a disruption in the food chain, ultimately causing more

140species extinction.

141 According to Reid, many biodiverse grasslands, savannas and woodlands throughout

142the world are threatened by tree planting. Planting trees in such places does much more harm

143than good. However, planting the right tree in the right place at the right time can be extremely

144useful. Tree planting is particularly important for ecological restoration in harsh environments

145where trees don’t get many chances to grow up, such as in dry, coastal Peru or in highland

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146Madagascar. In order to plant trees in restoring ecosystems, there are things that must be

147considered. First, the natural ecosystems in an area must contain trees, if not then tree planting

148can cause harm. Second, trees should be able to recover on their own without our help in order

149to save some of the people’s effort by letting nature do the effort. Third, choosing the right tree

150species for the right place that will satisfy the goal of an ideal tree planting.

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152CONCLUSION

153 To figure out which is more representative measure of species, the researchers used

154diversity t test. From the statistical test, it was concluded that the diversity and evenness for

155number of species were not significantly different to diameter at breast height. However, to

156answer the research question, the diameter at breast height showed to be more representative

157for species diversity and evenness due to its greater values for both Simpson’s Index of

158Diversity (1-D) and Shannon’s Equitability Index (HE), Moreover, the researchers recommended

159to use a larger sample size for more accurate results.

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160REFERENCES

161Journal Articles

162AYMA-ROMAY AI, BOWN HE. 2019 Biomass and dominance of conservative species drive

163 above-ground biomass productivity in a mediterranean-type forest of Chile. For.

164 Ecosyst. 6, 47doi:10.1186/s40663-019-0205-z

165WAGNER DL. 2018. Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene. Retrieved from

166 https://www.sciencedirect.com/ on 30 November 2019

167WOHLGEMUTH D, SOLAN M, GODBOLD J. Specific arrangements of species dominance can

168 be more influential than evenness in maintaining ecosystem process and function. Sci

169 Rep 6, 39325 (2016) doi:10.1038/srep39325

170Electronic References

171BEALS M. 1999. Diversity Indices: Simpson’s Dand E. Retrieved from

172 http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/bealsmodules/simpsonDI.html on 30 November

173 2019

174BEALS M. 1999. Diversity Indices: Simpson’s H and E. Retrieved from

175 http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/bealsmodules/shannonDI.html on 30 November

176 2019

177HILL J. n.d.. Invasive Species: How They Affect the Environment. Retrieved from

178 https://www.environmentalscience.org/ on 30 November 2019

179NATIVE GARDENING. n.d. Retrieved from https://www.fs.fed.us/ on 30 November 2019

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180REID L. 2018. It’s Complicated: Trees and Ecological Restoration. Retrieved from

181 https://discoverandshare.org/2018/10/31/its-complicated-trees-and-ecological-

182 restoration/ on 30 November 2019

183RODRIGUEZ A. 2013. Biomass (Ecology). Retrieved from http://biogendr.com/ on 30 November

184 2019

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198APPENDIX

199Ficus sp. Pometia pinnata Ficus septica

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204 Drypetes falcata

205 Syzgium sp.

206 Vitex

207 parviflora

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212Delonix regia Ficus septica Swietenia macrophylla

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218Akasya Anahaw Indian Rubber Tree

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223 Camphor

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