Socio-ecological assessment of avian and floristic diversity within agroforestry system: a case in Binahon Agroforestry farm at the foothills of Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park in Lantapan, Bukidnon, Philippines

The Binahon Agroforestry farm (BAFF), situated at the lower slopes of a biodiversity-rich Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park (MKNP), is a model for sustainable agriculture. Using the socio-ecological approach, this study was conducted to investigate in this agroforestry farm could be used as s strategy to conserve biodiversity, particularly supporting birds, and its habitat. A combination of ecological surveys, secondary data analysis. GIS techniques, and social surveys were employed to gather data for the analysis, GIS techniques, and social surveys were employed to gather data for the analysis. A total of 49 bird species showing high diversity were documented, which include 24 endemics and two threatened species. Forest dwellers, insessorial, and insectivores dominate in terms of species count, which is also shown to be comparable to the community of birds in MKNP. The plant survey on the other hand, revealed a very high density wherein a total of 167 plant species were documented including 120endemics and eight threatened species. In terms of vegetation structure, species with the most importance value were the planted and cultured trees. Results on the spatiotemporal analysis also indicated that there was a prominent change particularly on the land cover drop of grassland and shrubland and the gradual increase of dense vegetation. The analysis on the human dimension also provided an overview on the development of the farm and the importance of knowledge transfer from different individuals and institutions. The social survey also showed strong knowledge, positive attitude and perception towards local biodiversity particularly on birds in their community. The socio-ecological information gathered in this study could be crucial for policy makers and government agencies to advocate for the establishment of more agroforestry farms. And for these farms to be used as a strategy for biodiversity conservation, agroforestry design coupled with sustainable practices must be considered.