Development of a participatory methodology for inventory and assessment of floral resources and their characterization in the Montane Forests of Mt. Malindang [Philippines]

With the participation of Subanens as local researchers, an assessment of plant diversity in two 1-ha semipermanent plots located in Mt. Ginanlajan and Palo 6, Malindang Range was conducted. The assessment revealed 301 species, 181 genera, and 113 families. The scientific identification of plants was enriched by local indigenous knowledge. A complete inventory of trees showed high species richness (63-67 species/ha) and high tree density (961-1,000 trees/ha). These figures are higher than those reported for lowland and montane forests in Mt. Kitanglad and other neotropical countries. Assessing floral resources also revealed 2 endangered species, 71 endemic species, 11 rare and 171 economically important species, and 10 species that are socioculturally important based on the indigenous knowledge of local researchers, and 79 species as surveyed from the communities. Endemism is high with 48 (57%) of the 85 tree species endemic. Three new species of mosses not yet found in the Philippines were discovered. When the number of species between primary and secondary forests was compared, more species were found in the primary forest than in the secondary forests, but there were more individuals of similar species in the secondary forest than in the primary forest. Moreover, an ethnobotanical survey based on the indigenous knowledge of local researchers has shown many economically important plants, of which 39 species are medicinal , 14 species are food plants, 18 species are ornamentals, and 100 species are either used for lumber firewood, and handicraft. An ethnobotanical survey of the communities revealed 247 medicinal plant species, 79 food plants and 134 species with economic importance. As a result of participatory inventory assessment and community validation, local researchers - Subanens - have identified the establishment of a nursery of fast-growing trees and a community economic garden as potential livelihood projects for biodiversity conservation. Using stepwise regression, the identification of tree species made by both trained and untrained local researchers from subquadrats (5x5 m) revealed no significant relation or contribution to the identification using scientific and common names. However, identification of scientific names by trained local researchers approached significant level (0.08, with 0.05 significant level). These researchers significantly contributed to the scientific identification of lower forms of plants, and identification of food plants and their other uses. Moreover, both trained and untrained local researchers contributed significantly to identifying medicinal uses of plants. Participation of local people in biodiversity assessment yielded a wealth of local nomenclature of floral species. The active participation of trained local researchers enriched scientific results on inventory and assessment of floral resources, particularly on ethnobotanical knowledge