Articles
Volume 18 Nos. 1 & 2
Sylvatrop Vol. 18 contains six articles that focused on the following research topics: carrying capacity, provenance trial, non-mist propagation, soil erosion assessment, vulnerability assessment, and rodent diversity.
Volume 17 Nos. 1 & 2
Histopathological changes in microbially infected forest tree seeds by Maria dP. Dayan Hyspathological study of microbially infected forest tree seeds was conducted to determine the effect of different fungi on the cellular structures of artificially and naturally infected seeds The mode of infection of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium moniliforme, and Phoma sp. on artificially inoculated seeds of Pterocarpus indicus Willd (narra), Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Ldt), F. moniliforme, and F. solani on Swietenia macrophylla King (mahogany); and F. solani on Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. (raintree) was described. Ramification of the hyphal structures from the seed coat to the subepidermal layer and some parts of the cotyledon of narra and endosperm of mahogany was observed. Hyphal growth of F. solani was concentrated mainly on seed coat and less penetration was observed beyond the epidermal layer of raintree seeds.
Volume 16 Nos. 1 & 2
Chemical changes in microbially infected forest tree seeds by Maria dP. Dayan and Delia N. Mailum Chemical changes in microbially infected seeds of seven forest tree species, three artificially inoculated and four naturally infected seeds, were studied to determine the effect of microfungi on the food reserves of seeds such as starch, total sugar, and fat.
Volume 15 Nos. 1 & 2
Spatial analysis of Important Bird Area boundaries in the Philippines: gaps and recommendations Jose Don T. De Alban Important Bird Areas (IBA) in the Philippines were identified using a set of international criteria to determine globally important priority areas for biodiversity conservation. The IBA boundaries were delineated using data on trigger bird species distribution coupled with available land cover data. Present conservation work has been guided using the IBAs as a directory of key conservation sites. But how relevant and accurate are the IBA boundaries, considering that less than 50% of Philippine IBAs are completely known ornithologically, and that the original IBA delineation relied on historical records of trigger bird species? The mapping of IBAs illustrated that the original IBA delineation was not well related to forest extents and that 46% of the country's forest habitats lay beyond IBA boundaries. Forests remained extensive within large Endemic Bird Areas (EBA) but smaller EBAs like Mindoro and Negros Panay had 8% and 5% forest left, respectively. Mining areas were heavily in conflict with IBAs wherein 21% of forests in IBAs were similarly under mining applications. The implications of the gaps in existing IBA boundaries were discussed in light of aggressive promotion of mining and how conservation work and policy agenda in the country could be affected. Challenges and threats in conserving the IBAs at the local and national levels were identified by examining overlaps with mining claims and conflicting tenurial instruments. The revision of original IBA boundaries should be implemented to conform better to forest boundaries, which may form the bases of protected area boundaries. Parameters on delineating IBAs should be developed using updated forest cover information, which can further improve the results of this IBA analysis. The IBA concept should also be applied to Key Biodiversity Areas with the inclusion of data on non-avian taxonomic groups.
Volume 14 Nos. 1 & 2
Responses of mammalian fauna of southwestern Negros Island, Philippines to fragmentation of the tropical rainforest by Renee B. Paalan1, Ely L. Alcala2, and Leonardo T. Averia2 1 Biology Department , Siliman University 2 Siliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management Dumaguete City 6200, Philippines A study looking into the effects of forest fragmentation on mammals in tropical rainforest habitats was conducted in southwestern Negros Island in 2001-2003. The objectives of the study were to: (a) determine the nature of the habitats of mammals in forest fragments, (b) determine the species of mammals that still occur in these forest fragments, and (c) evaluate their relative abundance. The study site is in southwestern Negros (part of Negros Occidental province). It contains scattered fragments of limestone and non-limestone forests of varying sizes at elevations ranging from 100 to 300m asl. The information gathered from the survey was compared with earlier island records. The study showed that only 12 of the 17 species of Dipterocarps reported on Negros remain in our study site. The total number of species of land mammals observed in the area is 22, which is less than the total island record of 50 mammals. The species of fruit bats (excluding Dobsonia chapmani) expected to occur in the study area have been observed there. D. chapmani, thought to have been extinct since the 1970's, was discovered in the Calatong forest portion of the study area.
Volume 13 Nos. 1 & 2
The importance of forest fragments for birds and local communities in Northeast Luzon, Philippines by Merlijn van Weerd, Joeri Strijk, and Denyse Snelder Institute of Environmental Sciences Leiden University, PO Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands E-mail: vanweerd@cml.leidenuniv.nl, Joeri.Strijk@wur.nl, snelder@cml.leidenuniv.nl The Philippine Islands used to be covered mainly with forest until recent times. Within the evolutionary history, the vast majority of flora and fauna species now occurring in the Philippines, colonized or evolved in forest habitats and not in cleared areas. Because of its specific island biogeogrpahical history, the Philippines has a very high number of endemic species. During the last 100 years, most of the original tropical forests in the Philippines have been removed for timber or cleared for crop cultivation. The forest fragments that still remain, usually in areas not suitable for cultivation or timber extraction, harbor remnants of the biodiversity originally found in extensive lowland forest.
Volume 12 Nos. 1 & 2
Diagnosis, identification, and control of malapapaya [Polyscias nodosa (Blume) Seem] seedling diseases in the Teraoka Farm nursery by Maria P. Dayan and Rosalinda S. Reaviles Diseases attacking malapapaya (P. nodosa) seedlings in the Teraoka Farm nursery were studied. Three important diseases and the associated organisms were identified, namely: leaf spot and stem lesion with the associated fungus Colletorichum gloeosporioides and root rot with the associated fungi Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia solani. Fungicidal treatment using Benlate and Captan at the rate of 3 g/L of water at weekly interval totally eradicated leaf spot and stem lesion. Sterilization of potting medium for 4 hrs completely controlled the root rot disease.
Volume 11 Nos. 1 & 2
Forest resources monitoring using spaceborne Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) in Aurora Province, Philippines by Jose C. Cabanayan Jr., Peter H. Crown, and Benoit Rivard Forest monitoring using optical instruments such as aerial photographs and LANDSAT/SPOT data is difficult to implement in the Philippines due to the presence of clouds and haze that are prevalent in the tropics. Aurora province was chosen as the typical area of this nature with the presence of illegal harvesting of trees under the canopy and some clearings of small patches of forest. The use of spaceborne Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) like Japanese Earth Resources-1 or JERS-1 that is independent of these natural occurrences in forested areas could provide immediate information on the forest disturbances. Six different forest types and two agricultural land use classes were subjected to this study occurring in 48 combinations of aspect and slope magnitudes. Backscattered energies were measured on each combination and compared to determine the relationship and difference in discriminating the old-growth forest from the residual forest, yet small clearings like slash-and-burn agriculture were easily detected. The use of the RADAR data alone for forest monitoring is difficult to implement, thus, care should be taken into consideration on these terrain features.
Volume 10 Nos. 1 & 2
Species List and Site Distribution: WCSP Proceedings 1999 Mammalian diversity in the Philippines: an assessment of the adequacy of current data by Lawrence R. Heaney, Emily K. Walker, Blas R. Tabaranze Jr, and Nina R. Ingle Although much basic information on the distribution and diversity of mammals has been gathered in the Philippines, analysis of data in the most recent synopsis (plus some supplemental information) demonstrates that while the mammalian faunas of a few islands in the country are moderately well known, we cannot be confident that all mammals that are present have been documented. The Babuyan, Batanes, and Sulu archipelagos are especially poorly known, but many other islands of all sizes are inadequately sampled. Among the three most speciose groups, fruit bats, insect-eating bats, and murid rodents, the fruit bats (family Pteropodidae) are the best known group, and there may be complete lists of species for some islands and provinces. Insect-eating bats are probably the least well known group, and there are probably no islands or provinces from which complete lists of species are available. Murid rodents are well known in some areas but poorly known in most; the large number of new species discovered and described recently implies that more remain to be discovered, especially in montane and mossy forest.
Volume 9 No. 2
Bani [Pongamia pinnata (L.) Merr.] anthracnose in the Philippines by Jing Yuebo and Ernesto Militante A new anthracnose disease of bani (Pongamia pinnata (L.L Merr.), an indigenous species of the Philippines, was first observed in the nursery of the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources (IRNR), College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). The causal agent of the disease was identified as Rhizoctonia hiemalis sp. Nov. (Saksena and Vaartaja 1960). Infected seedlings exhibited the typical symptoms, such as irregular light to dark brown dead blotches on the leaves that merge together to cause death often resulting in premature defoliation, blight, and retarded growth. The incidence of the disease was 100% with the presence of high moisture in the area.