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Chapter 1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The University of St. La Salle Eco-park, a five hundred acre land at Barangay
Granada, Bacolod City, was donated to the university during the nineties. The area that
was formerly a sugarcane field was made into an extension of the school campus to be
used for ecological and biological studies. About two hectares of the land were developed
to accommodate the university’s facilities which included two small buildings that
housed student projects, two butterfly gardens, a greenhouse, and mini gardens. The
Eco-park is still in the early stages of development, thus little information on its
In the year 1997, a study on the proposed Eco-park site, which was then referred
to as an Eco-land, was conducted by Mrs. Rose Marie L Guardamano. Plans were made
on how to best utilize the land by providing a resource inventory of the site. These plans
were then put into action and after nine years, the Eco-park was developed into what it is
today.
sustaining a particular ecosystem. Areas that contain well diverse ecosystems are
consequently more productive and are able to withstand stress caused by the conditions
Plant diversity in the Granada Eco-park ecosystem would imply that it has a
suitable range of conditions for the successful growth and development of various plants
and fruit crops. This would also indicate that plants would thrive and flourish in these
conditions, thus making the Eco-park a good place for the conservation of an ecological
community.
The different environmental conditions that affect the growth and development of
plants influence its diversity. Growth and development include all the stages related to the
The study aimed to document the plant diversity and the associated environmental
conditions of the University of St. La Salle Eco-park. Specifically, this study intended to:
The identification of the different plant species and the investigation of the
environmental conditions of the Eco-Park will determine whether the park would be a
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suitable place to support plant life. Conservation of plant life would enhance the
community’s ability to support other biotic life as well. Thus, it would provide students
taking natural science classes such as biology, microbiology, ecology, and botany, with a
venue for collecting specimens from various plant and insect species. A well developed
land area would provide sites required for agriculture and ecology students’ field work
studies. This study may also be used as reference for future research that will be
The Granada Eco-park, its plant diversity and environmental conditions, were the
focus of this study. Plant diversity was determined by obtaining data on density, relative
observed included the Eco-park’s soil temperature, pH, nutrient content, moisture content
and texture, water temperature and pH, air temperature and humidity.
Random sampling was employed in the selection of the different sites that were
used in the study. Data gathering was conducted at least twice a week, during both the dry
and wet seasons. This was done to ensure that the information gathered was
representative of the entire area, during two different seasons of the year.