PLANT FUNCTIONAL TRAITS OF TREE SPECIES LIVING IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITY IN GUNUNG PAPANDAYAN, JAWA BARAT

• Main Author: Maylinda, Gerina
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/42670
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Plant functional traits (PFT) are measurable characteristics of plant relating to morphology, physiology, and phenology that can be used to explain and compare their responses to the environment and/or their effects on ecosystem functioning. Traits associated with ecological strategies are widely used to study the relationship between the plants and their environment. We selected two study sites with different community that reflects differences in the soil condition, i.e. Vaccinium-dominated vegetation (more acidic and low soil fertility) and mixed forest (neutral and high soil fertility). This study aimed to compare PFT of tree species characteristic in inhabiting Vaccinium-dominated vegetation and mixed forest at Mount Papandayan, West Java, Indonesia. The measured functional traits were specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), wood density (WD), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), and leaf phosphorus content (LPC). Individual-based traits were corrected with Mann Whitney U Test whereas species-based traits were corrected with dendrogram base on Euclidean distance matrix. The result shows the mean of SLA, LNC, and LPC are greater in mixed forest. However, the mean of LDMC and WD are greater in Vaccinium-dominated vegetation. The Mann Whitney U Test is significant for LNC, LPC, SLA, WD and not significant for LDMC. The mix traits (LNC, LPC, SLA, WD) dendrogram show that tree species in Vaccinium-dominated vegetation are in different clade from tree species in mixed forest. In contrast, the mix traits (LNC, LPC, SLA, WD, LDMC) dendrogram shows that tree species in Vaccinium-dominated vegetation are in the same clade with tree species in mixed forest. The result indicates that the lower SLA, LNC, LPC, and greater WD of tree species in Vaccinium-dominated vegetation, give significantly different to the characteristic of tree species in mixed forest that have greater SLA, LNC, LPC and lower WD. Therefore plant functional traits (PFT) that specifically show the different of Vaccinium-dominated vegetation characteristic from Mixed Forest is leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and leaf phosphorous content (LPC). Lower leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and leaf phosphorous content (LPC) indicating Vaccinium-dominated vegetation have lower soil fertility than Mixed Forest.